James Anthony Franklin Finlayson was called Jahmés by many in the arts community. He was a conjure man who used music as a balm to bind up the wounds modern society has inflicted on the people. He was an old-time healer who laid hands on skin to produce a positive vibration. He was a minister who roused the Holy Ghost and made people jump and shout in joy. His family called him Tony and he was welcomed into his spiritual home on July 10, 2023. He was the beloved son of Dr. William and Edith Finlayson.

He was born in St. Paul Minnesota on Jan 20, 1958. He grew up in Milwaukee where his family settled shortly after his birth. He was nurtured by a tight-knit community that includes close friends who lived on or near 16th and Keefe before fair housing cracked the wall of segregation in the city. Families such as the Whites and the Jeffersons remained stalwart friends throughout his life as well as others who knew Tony as a member of Jack and Jill.

Tony helped to integrate the schools in the Milwaukee area when he was enrolled as the first Black student in the kindergarten class at Country Day School, which would later be known as University School of Milwaukee. He was a competitive athlete there and lettered in several sports. He also manifested an affinity for music. He was involved with school bands and theatre productions at that time. Like many in his generation, Tony was influenced by the Black Arts Movement and that ignited a life-long passion for African drumming. While in high school, Tony began working with the Ko-Thi Dance Company. Under the tutelage of founder Fern Caulker and then musical director Luther Gray, Tony began his exploration of African percussion.

During that time, Tony also discovered what would become his signature instrument, the kalimba. He graduated from USM in 1976 and went on to attain a degree in graphic arts and photography from Yale University. His interest in African culture and music were further piqued by encounters with figures such as Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and members of the Sweet Honey in the Rock ensemble. His interest in African spirituality also expanded. He continued his study of African drumming and culture following graduation from Yale.

Tony returned to Milwaukee as a cultural warrior and took on the name Jahmés and also took on the mission that would define the remainder of his life. Through performance, arts education, and personal interactions, he was an apostle of traditional music culture and spirituality. He sought to enrich the world through his arts, or as his grandmother would often say, "Do good." He was raised as a Baptist and is a member of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Miami, Florida. Yet he also explored a wide range of other spiritual traditions and formed relationships based on an ability to reach people of all faiths, using his music as a healing force.

Those who knew him knew that his drumbeat was his heartbeat.

His performance style was joyous and eclectic. His percussion table housed instruments that could produce sounds for every occasion and emotion. That made him a favorite of local dramatists. His sounds have graced the stages of many plays as well as African and Afro-Latin ensembles. His passion for the drum inspired the formation of One Drum, a world music band and multi-cultural ensemble that entertained diverse audiences across the city, state, nation and beyond.

Children of all ages and abilities have benefited from his ability to inspire and teach by way of his enthralling rhythms, storytelling, and movements.

He was in the tradition of Chief Bey and influenced by Ko-Thi musical directors Luther Gray and Dumah Safir. He left an indelible mark on the drumming community.

Still as he strove musically, his politics and social engagement were always apparent. He used music to promote several progressive causes, always advocating for the earth and the downtrodden among us. Like a monk, he often volunteered his talents as he worked in churches and community centers as well as stages across the country to impart a message of peace, justice, and acceptance. He will be long remembered for the work he has done and the light that he brought to the lives of so many.

Jahmés is survived by his father William, sister Sheila, and brother Reginald, cousins V. Raymond Roberts (Jerilyn), Denise Roberts, William Roberts (Judy), Byron Foster (Faith), Flora Foster (Paolo), nieces Mekeeda Finlayson-Baylis (Craig), Celiwa-Zuri Finlayson, and great nephews, Michael, Emanuel and Nasir, as well as a host of other loved ones.

Remembrance above from the program for the Celebration of Life Ceremony held on Saturday, July 22, 2023 at the Lynden Sculpture Garden, River Hills, Wisconsin. Following the ceremony was a repast and opportunities for further words and offerings at the Life Center MKE, Milwaukee. His life was also memorialized in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, WTMJ 4, CBS 58, and other media.