Well known gospel musician Denton Peschier, aka Gitta Dan, passed away on Saturday from an undisclosed illness.
John Thomas, a friend from church who has known him for over 20 years, told the T&T Guardian yesterday that his passing will leave a “void.”
“I just got the information and it is a bit mind boggling for me. The last I spoke to him around July/August, he told me he was ill. I knew he was not well but not to the extent that he was,” Thomas said.
“He was full of heart for the youths. He did a lot of prison ministries. I am not putting down any other artistes but he leaves a big void.”
Yesterday, Peschier’s wife, Amma Pilgrim, posted on her Facebook page: “Hi guys, I’ll be doing a live later with the funeral and wake/celebration of life locations and times. Thank you for all your love in this difficult time!”
According to his official bio, Peschier has always been singing his way into the hearts of people. As a child, he sang in church and Sunday School and later, on the block with his friends.
After his first stage performance at Holy Cross College, Peschier started to make a name for himself on the gospel music circuit, eventually gaining the attention of gospel artiste Sherwin Gardiner.
With Gardiner’s support, he officially launched his music career in 1995 as part of the gospel reggae dancehall duo “Tiko and Gitta.” Together, they released “Royal Priesthood” (2002), a critically acclaimed album, and went on tour, performing in St Lucia, Barbados, Anguilla, Guyana and Antigua.
Launching out on his own, Peschier continued to build his music and support base, performing at schools, clubs, homes, fund-raisers and the beach with his box guitar.
He was also a prolific songwriter and had developed a unique style of performing by mixing reggae with dancehall while maintaining an organic and acoustic flavour.