St. Thomas, Virgin Islands – Jon Lucien sang of a seasonless kind of love with a satin baritone voice that rode steadily over calypso-tinged congas. The two-time Grammy-award winner who grew up in the Virgin Islands is credited with being one of the pioneers of smooth jazz.
He was a man so committed to his music that at one point he toured across the country during a six-year period of dialysis treatments.
Lucien, who died Aug. 18 in Florida at 65 of respiratory failure, leaves behind close to 30 years of a distinct style of music and songwriting that blends Latin, Brazilian, and funk while paying homage to his Caribbean background.
His compositions paint images of hummingbirds, summer skies and rainbow-colored weather, in a sound he describes as romantic.
Born Lucien “Billy” Harrigan on Tortola, Lucien was the oldest of eight children of Eloise and Eric “Rico” Harrigan. He moved to St. Thomas as a child.
As a young boy, Lucien’s restless energy found an outlet in his father’s band, Rico and the Rhythmaires. As a teenager, Lucien began playing at Sebastien’s on the Waterfront and for the Monty Clark Trio.
“He was basically self- taught,” said Pedrito Robles, Lucien’s youngest brother. “He learned to play bass by being put on the spot by our father maybe if the bass player didn’t show up.”
By age 17, Lucien moved to the States to pursue his passion for music. He returned occasionally to perform and visit family.
Lucien won two Grammy awards in 1973 for the songs “Rashida” and “Lady Love.”
Some of his later album titles include 1993’s “Mother Nature’s Son,” 1997’s “Endless Is Love,” and 1999’s “Precious Love.”
“There will never be a voice with such a deep, rare quality,” said Lorraine Baa-Elisha, a friend who invited Lucien to play in 2005 as a fundraiser for the Charlotte Kimelman Cancer Institute.
The concert, played alongside Melba Moore and Nancy Wilson, turned out to be Lucien’s last performance in his home. He played for more than an hour shortly after having kidney surgery. It was his way of making an extra effort, giving back to the place that nurtured him, Baa-Elisha said.
“He was always funny, a great personality, always upbeat. I never knew him to be down,” she said. “He was always humming a tune or singing, and he had that very interesting smile.”
In addition to singing, Lucien played bass, guitar, piano and percussion.
“Night after night, year after year, all over our planet I was able to witness more intently than anybody, one of the most extraordinary contemporary vocalists of our time,” recalled Kim Plainfield, Lucien’s drummer for 19 years. “Herbie Hancock said that Jon was the man with the golden throat. I’ll say that Jon was the man with the platinum throat.”
In 1987, Lucien met his second wife, Delesa Lucien, whom he married the following year. They lived in the Virgin Islands for several years before moving to Puerto Rico for nine years, then heading for the states.
“He was just such a great, great talent and a great, great husband. He was kind and gentle and loving,” Delesa Lucien, said. “His music is lively. He has a healing music. You have to be spiritually enlightened to appreciate the depth of his music.”
Over the years Lucien battled with his health, including challenges with his lungs, losing vision in one eye due to cataracts and a failed kidney after the onset of diabetes.
But illness didn’t keep Lucien back.
“He did it anyway. He loved the audience and always received so much. It boosted his self-esteem. He gave to his audience and they gave back to him,” she said.
She said she will continue to work on Lucien’s music, including releasing his latest gospel CD, “Wayfarer,” an album that contains original songs and classic hymns such as “Amazing Grace,” and publishing a book of sheet music of his songs.
A memorial is planned for New York City in coming weeks, with a tribute being scheduled in the Virgin Islands in September.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Celesa; sons Hanif and Jamil; stepson Mark Lee; and two grandchildren.
