Roots Shack Reggae : April 2016

Ernest Ranglin Retires from Live Performance

After 6 decades in music, Jamaican guitarist Ernest Ranglin has decided to retire from stage shows at the age of 83. As a thank you to his fans he has announced a farewell world tour. He will be joined by Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, UK saxophonist Courtney Pine, US bassist Ira Coleman, UK pianist Alex Wilson and Senegalese singer Cheikh Lo. Ranglin was instrumental in the birth of ska as well as being one of the world’s most respected jazz players.

Confirmed dates include 27.05 Morocco - Rabat/Mawazine 25.06 UK - Glastonbury/Festival 26.06 UK - Canterbury/Marlowe Theatre 27.06 UK - London/Barbican Center 28.06 UK - Basingstoke/The Anvil 01.07 UK - Bristol/Colston Hall 02.07 France - Lyon/Festival Ile Utopie 08.07 Germany - Berlin/Wassermusik Festival @ House of World Cultures 09.07 Slovakia - Pohoda/Pohoda Festival 13.07 Switzerland - Montreux/Montreux Jazz Festival 20.07 Turkey - Istanbul/Jazz Festival 24.07 Japan - Fuji Rock 28.07 Netherlands - Rotterdam/Parkpop 29.07 Germany - Lörrach/Stimmen Festival 30.07 Austria - Krems/Glatt & Verkehrt 21.08 Norway - Oslo/Mela Festival 31.08 France - Paris/La Vilette Jazz 03.09 Finland - Helsinki/Helsinki Festival Story By Angus Taylor

The Skatalites

The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including "Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many other Jamaican artists who recorded during that period. They reformed in 1983 and have played together ever since.

The founders of the Skatalites were Tommy McCook (died 1998), Rolando Alphonso (died 1998), Lester Sterling, Lloyd Brevett (died 2012), Lloyd Knibb (died 2011), Don Drummond (died 1969), Jah Jerry Haynes (died 2007), Jackie Mittoo (died 1990), Johnny Moore (died 2008) and Jackie Opel (died 1970). These ten musicians started to play together from 1955, when Kingston's recording studios started to develop. Tommy McCook was the first member of the band to record, though not for commercial release: he played with Don Hitchman's Group in 1953. Archie Lindo asked Hitchman to play a few tunes for his pioneer radio station, "ZQI", on their new equipment. Soon after that, sound system pioneer Stanley Motta began to operate his studio, where he recorded calypso and mento that were released on 78's. Rolando Alphonso was one of the first to record with him, probably in 1954. Though McCook was the first in the band to record, he did not participate in the recording sessions with the other nine musicians. He left Jamaica in 1954 for a jazz gig at the Zanzibar Club in Nassau, Bahamas. He returned to Jamaica in June 1962, and began playing regular jazz sessions around Kingston. Record producer Coxsone Dodd searched for jazz players around Kingston and was impressed by McCook's playing. Tommy McCook heard some ska, but initially resisted Dodd's offers to record and to lead a studio group, because he was a committed jazzman. In 1962 Dodd released I Cover The Waterfront (Port-O-Jam) with Roland Alphonso and Don Drummond, who did the solo and brass sections. In 1963 he released Jazz Jamaica From the Workshop (Port-O-Jam/Studio One), on which McCook played for the first time since returning to Jamaica. Don Drummond has two tunes on Jazz Jamaica and McCook has one, "The Answer".

Lee "Scratch" Perry, Reggae Pioneer, Set to Burn the Mother Down

Story by Hilary Harty...Lee "Scratch" Perry is eccentric. Not like your rich uncle who exclusively wears periwinkle blue track suits to brunch every Sunday. No, Perry's eccentricities are more organic than that, rooted in decades of building the foundation of what we now know as reggae and dub music. Born Rainford Hugh Perry, the 80-year-old Kendal, Jamaica native has managed to do something few musicians get to do during their careers: Pioneer a new sound, produce monumental tracks that propel it to soaring heights and then burn said sound to the ground.

Back in the early '70s, after over 15 years of working in the newly christened reggae industry, Perry built a recording studio in the backyard of his Kingston, Jamaica home that would ultimately change the future of the movement. The infamous Black Ark Studios was, for all intents and purposes, a Rasta shack that slowly seeped smoke from under its feeble walls whilst the thumping of deep dub beats permeated throughout its surroundings. The four-walled palace of pot helped shape the careers of legendary reggae sound-masters like The Heptones, Junior Byles, Max Romeo, Augustus Pablo and most notably, Bob Marley and the Wailers. Perry was behind the board for all of these sessions, using his inherent skills to overdub various layers of music while creating a unique sound which would eventually evolve into dub. Perry's style was so influential and one-of-a-kind that musicians like Paul McCartney and The Clash traveled to Jamaica to seek his musical wisdom. Some of his more notable production techniques included burying a drum at the bottom of a palm tree to get a more bass-ed sound, employing the vocal stylings of crying babies on his tracks and surrounding his boards with things like chicken wire, broken bottles and cutlery. All of these effects contributed to the success and legacy of the Black Ark studio and Perry. But by the end of the decade, Perry was disenchanted with the once profound empire he had built. Citing stress from the constant rigmarole of having to turn his creativity on and off, Perry felt that the vibe and spirit of the studio had changed. Rumors were afoot at the time that prominent Jamaican gangsters and politicos were trying to cheat him of every last dime. Others say that Perry's sometimes flamboyant and outlandish behavior contributed to his downfall. Whatever the case may be, Perry eventually burned the studio down less than a decade after he had built it. And he burned down another one in late 2015, except this time it was an accidental fire started by a candle left unnoticed. While the Grammy-winning sound-smith may have had worse luck with fires than most of us will have with sunburns in our lives, you can't feel bad for the man. His legacy is one that will carry on long after his last dub performance leaves you feeling oh-so irie and high-re. Known as the "godfather of dub" by many, a documentary called The Upsetter (his infamous nickname), detailing the life of Perry, was theatrically released after a successful showcase at SXSW in 2008. In it, you see a man who had a desire to leave a cannabis-shaped footprint on the music industry from an early age, a man who many might say is crazy, but is never lazy and, most importantly, a man who has learned to embrace and accept change while still keeping his peripheral eye on his past life. The most impressive thing about Perry, however, is that he's still writing, recording and performing. Most musicians who were active at a time when Led Zeppelin and The Who were still putting out their bests are either resolutely docile or are enjoying the fruits of their past labors. These days, you can find Perry performing with the Subatomic Sound System and using his chops to influence a myriad of newer electronic musicians. The candle that lit his musical career, purpose and dub roots has never burnt out, and it's inarguably Lee "Scratch" Perry's creative fire that has been the most important one to spark in his lifetime. Lee “Scratch” Perry & Subatomic Sound System 40th Anniversary Super Ape Tour $20 6pm Fri, April 29 Paper Tiger 2410 N. St. Mary’s St.

Lord Flea takes own brand of Calypso abroad

While Lord Kitchener was promoting the Trinidadian style of calypso music in the United Kingdom (UK) in the early 1950s, Jamaicans were busy at home creating their own brand of calypso which became known as mento. It was a vibrant danceable rhythm that contained elements of rich Jamaican folk music interwoven with African melodies brought to the Caribbean by African slaves. This musical concoction was further enhanced by the inclusion of the European dance rhythm called Quadrille, brought to the islands by slave owners. Kitchener may have been the first to take calypso into international waters, but the Jamaican calypsonian, Norman Byfield Thomas, better known as Lord Flea, also played a signficant role in helping to popularise the genre abroad. Whereas Kitchener made his mark in the United Kingdom, Flea was credited with helping to start the calypso craze in the United States and was mainly responsible for popularising the Jamaican calypso style there. His style was mento, but was marketed in the US as calypso, as many Americans weren't familiar with the name 'Mento'.

On the local scene, Lord Flea and his calypsonians originally gained increasing popularity at local nightclubs like Adastra, Success, and Desperanza, a nightclub situated close to his Regent Street residence in West Kingston (where he was born) between 1932 and 1934. Flea recorded a few songs then with local businessmen Ken Khouri and Alec Durie, before being spotted at one of his performances by the American club owner, Bill Saxon, who was in the island searching for talent to work at his Florida venue. The guitarist/singer/composer was originally offered a six-month contract to work with Saxon in the mid-1950s. Flea took full advantage of the opportunity by creating a calypso firestorm in the United States, establishing new house records with his band, Lord Flea and his calypsonians. The exciting aggregation, which included Count Spoon on drums and spoon; Prince Charles on timballi and tumba percussions; Fish Ray - one of the earliest exponents of the walking bass technique that succeeded the rhumba box; Pork Chops on banjo; and Flea himself on vocals/guitar, created ecstatic scenes at places like The Eden Rock Hotel, The Club Calypso, The Grey's Inn, The Dunes in Las Vegas and New York's Jamaica Room. A February 1957 review by Billboard stated that "Flea has a dynamic drive" and that his calypso album - Swinging Calypso, produced "attention-grabbing sides which can stir action at all levels". The 1950s calypso craze was extended into the movie world when Flea and his calypsonians appeared in two full-length movies in 1957 - Calypso Joe and Bop Girl goes Calypso, in which the 'Bop Girl' mentioned in the title, was persuaded to adopt the calypso style and abandon her previous Rock and Roll leanings. In the process, Flea established himself as Jamaica's first international superstar, ahead of Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Dekker, Peter Tosh and others. An exciting guitarist, a humorous writer of current happenings and a clever tongue-in-cheek exponent of rhythmic rhyme, Flea created calypsos that went to the heart of the Jamaican psyche. His landmark album, Swinging Calypso, done for the larger-than-life Capitol Records in 1957 was historic. It was the first by a Jamaican, and one of few Jamaicans, who had the privilege of being recorded by the monumental establishment. Capitol Records viewed him then, as the answer to RCA's Harry Belafonte. On the track, Mister Give Me the Rent, from the Swinging Calypso album, Flea highlights the age-old problem between tenants and landlords. He spoke about an unreasonable landlady who offered poor accommodation - something common to tenants at the time - and one who is "Too rude - in my affairs she likes to intrude". No chair, no table. This convenience is terrible. And on the other part no hotwater to take a bath. In the night I sleep like a rabbit. A dirty sheet off of a blanket and she have the audacity to tell me I'm living in luxury". On the track, Calypso Bee-Bop, Flea gives credit to the song and to several jazz greats like Stan Kenton, Lionel Hampton, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie, as he sang: "This Bee-Bop music is really terrific. I nearly went crazy, when I hear the records of Gillespie. It really enchanted me, just to hear him play anthropology". Although not indicating in which direction, it is understood, as Flea urges man to: "Run, run, run, when you see a pretty woman. When a man is in love it is so pitiful. A woman will cover her face with wool. Love is the common enemy, the moon and stars is artillery. When they attack you there is no retreat. You won't lose your heart if you use your feet". Some wise words taken from track number four (side 2) of the album Swinging Calypso, and titled, Pretty Woman, which was originally recorded by the legendary Edmundo Ross and his orchestra. The other two recordings of note from the album - both Flea's compositions, were Naughty Little Flea and The Monkey. The former was extensively covered, the most popular being done by the African singing queen, Mariam Makeba and Harry Belafonte. The latter saw Flea singing about the animal's habit of following him around and copying some of his actions: "When I put on shoes, monkey wear shoes too. I don't know what to say the monkey won't do". Other cuts from the album were equally popular, along with others he did locally for Calypsodisc, Calypsotime, and Times record labels. Thomas was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease - a malignant disease of the lymphatic tissues, and admitted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida where, (according to his daughter Cathie Way-Giddarie) he died in May 1959 at the tender age of 27. Thomas' funeral procession was, at the time, the longest ever seen in Miami-Dade County. Story via Jamaican Gleaner

RIP Lord Tanamo

LORD Tanamo, a former member of the legendary Skatalites band, died Tuesday in Toronto, Canada. He was 82.Born in Kingston and raised in Denham Town in the West of the city, Gordon was influenced by Lord Kitchener, who lived in Jamaica in the 1940s. His interest in music began at an early age when he heard a rumba box being played by local musician Cecil Lawes. He went on to perform locally as a teenager, singing calypsos accompanied by Lawes, and began performing in hotels in the early 1950s.

He first recorded for Kingston businessman and sound system operator Stanley Motta, and later recorded with a backing band that included Theophilus Beckford and Ernest Ranglin. His early hits included "Blues Have Got Me Down" (1960) for producer Emil Shallit.

Peter Tosh

Peter Tosh, OM (born Winston Hubert McIntosh; 19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987) was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band The Wailers (1963–1974), after which he established himself as a successful solo artist and a promoter of Rastafari. He was murdered in 1987 during a home invasion.

Tosh was born in Westmoreland Jamaica,the nation's westernmost parish. When McIntosh was fifteen, his aunt died and he moved to Trench Town in Kingston, Jamaica. He first picked up a guitar by watching a man in the country play a song that captivated him. He watched the man play the same song for half a day, memorizing everything his fingers were doing. He then picked up the guitar and played the song back to the man. The man then asked McIntosh who had taught him to play; McIntosh told him that he had.During the early 1960s Tosh met Robert Nesta Marley (Bob Marley) and Neville O'Reilly Livingston (Bunny Wailer) and went to vocal teacher Joe Higgs, who gave out free vocal lessons to young people, in hopes to form a new band. He then changed his name to become Peter Tosh and the trio started singing together in 1962. Higgs taught the trio to harmonize and while developing their music, they would often play on the street corners of Trenchtown.^[3]