Tweet
I’d been listening to jazz for much of the earlier part of today, and after soaking in the late Eric Gale’s blues-influenced runs on his reggae-flavored number, “Sara Smile” (from the recording, “Ginseng Woman”), I started to reflect on Jamaica and the state of its music.
Then I began thinking about those truly awesome Jamaican world-class musicians, and the fact that they have not achieved the fame they deserve. And Jamaica has indeed produced a number of musicians whose chops are incredibly good, guys like the awesome bass player Glen Browne (who’s recorded and toured with Jimmy Cliff, Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers, among others) and the drummer Santa Davis (formerly of Peter Tosh’s Word, Sound and Power band, just to name one).
Jamaica has produced a significant number of elite musicians, but I’ll simply list five here. These five guys that I’m listing below exemplify, in my opinion, what it means to be a “talented, tasteful, technically brilliant, and awesomely creative” musician:
Harold Butler: This keyboard player was a rising star on the Jamaican music scene in the 1970s before his mind started to deteriorate. But as a classically trained jazz and reggae keyboard player, he was absolutely brilliant! Although Butler still lives in Jamaica, his personal problems have effectively put an end to a brilliant and promising career. His most famous work: the 1970’s LP “The Butler Did It.”
Calvin McKenzie is without question one of the most brilliant drummers to emerge on the Jamaican musical landscape. Back in the 1970s he worked with musicians such as Harold Butler, Cedric “Im” Brooks and others. Tragedy struck in the form of a freak accident that ended Calvin McKenzie’s career as a drummer. At the time of his unbelievably tragic accident, McKenzie was the drummer with the Ocho Rios-based reggae-rock group, Native.
Lennox Gordon: Back in the late 1970s, Lennox Gordon was being singled out as the natural heir to guitar great Ernie Ranglin. This young man was such a brilliant guitarist that, mere weeks after enrolling in the Jamaica School of Music as a student, he became a guitar tutor there! I had the pleasure of interacting with Gordon and watching him play on numerous occasions, and back then I swore that he was a genius! I’ll never forget, as a youth, watching the Sonny Bradshaw orchestra on JBC-TV one night as they did a live performance of Duke Ellington’s “Take the A Train.” What I’ll never forget about that performance was the extended guitar solo that Gordon took during that interpretation of Duke Ellington’s hit. Sadly, like his friend Harold Butler, Lennox Gordon started to have psychological problems, which effectively ended his career. Ironically, he and Butler and Calvin McKenzie often played together.
Leroy “Gibby” Morrison is a former lead guitarist of Dean Fraser’s group, the 809 Band. Morrison also played bass on several of Peter Tosh’s recordings, and prior to that was the bassist for Jimmy Cliff in the late 1970’s world tour band that included Ernie Ranglin on lead guitar. A regular guitarist with Dean Fraser’s various groups during the 1980s and 1990s, Morrison also backed a plethora of other artists, including Fahrenheit and Mutabaruka. Thankfully Morrison, whose heavy metal style is reminiscent of rock greats like Eddie Van Halen, is still active in the studio and on stage.
Rohan Reid: A former bass player with the Grace Thrillers gospel group, Rohan Reid has to be ranked among Jamaica’s greatest bass players ever! A master of slap and funk bass and harmonics in the style of Stanley Clarke and the late Jaco Pastorious, Reid was for years the bass player at the Mutual Life jazz sessions. Other notable players at those Mutual Life jazz sessions included the outstanding drummer Desi Jones. By the 1990s, Reid was a bass player at Disney World in Florida. He is still active in bass playing in New York City.
Then I began thinking about those truly awesome Jamaican world-class musicians, and the fact that they have not achieved the fame they deserve. And Jamaica has indeed produced a number of musicians whose chops are incredibly good, guys like the awesome bass player Glen Browne (who’s recorded and toured with Jimmy Cliff, Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers, among others) and the drummer Santa Davis (formerly of Peter Tosh’s Word, Sound and Power band, just to name one).
Jamaica has produced a significant number of elite musicians, but I’ll simply list five here. These five guys that I’m listing below exemplify, in my opinion, what it means to be a “talented, tasteful, technically brilliant, and awesomely creative” musician:
Harold Butler: This keyboard player was a rising star on the Jamaican music scene in the 1970s before his mind started to deteriorate. But as a classically trained jazz and reggae keyboard player, he was absolutely brilliant! Although Butler still lives in Jamaica, his personal problems have effectively put an end to a brilliant and promising career. His most famous work: the 1970’s LP “The Butler Did It.”
Calvin McKenzie is without question one of the most brilliant drummers to emerge on the Jamaican musical landscape. Back in the 1970s he worked with musicians such as Harold Butler, Cedric “Im” Brooks and others. Tragedy struck in the form of a freak accident that ended Calvin McKenzie’s career as a drummer. At the time of his unbelievably tragic accident, McKenzie was the drummer with the Ocho Rios-based reggae-rock group, Native.
Lennox Gordon: Back in the late 1970s, Lennox Gordon was being singled out as the natural heir to guitar great Ernie Ranglin. This young man was such a brilliant guitarist that, mere weeks after enrolling in the Jamaica School of Music as a student, he became a guitar tutor there! I had the pleasure of interacting with Gordon and watching him play on numerous occasions, and back then I swore that he was a genius! I’ll never forget, as a youth, watching the Sonny Bradshaw orchestra on JBC-TV one night as they did a live performance of Duke Ellington’s “Take the A Train.” What I’ll never forget about that performance was the extended guitar solo that Gordon took during that interpretation of Duke Ellington’s hit. Sadly, like his friend Harold Butler, Lennox Gordon started to have psychological problems, which effectively ended his career. Ironically, he and Butler and Calvin McKenzie often played together.
Leroy “Gibby” Morrison is a former lead guitarist of Dean Fraser’s group, the 809 Band. Morrison also played bass on several of Peter Tosh’s recordings, and prior to that was the bassist for Jimmy Cliff in the late 1970’s world tour band that included Ernie Ranglin on lead guitar. A regular guitarist with Dean Fraser’s various groups during the 1980s and 1990s, Morrison also backed a plethora of other artists, including Fahrenheit and Mutabaruka. Thankfully Morrison, whose heavy metal style is reminiscent of rock greats like Eddie Van Halen, is still active in the studio and on stage.
Rohan Reid: A former bass player with the Grace Thrillers gospel group, Rohan Reid has to be ranked among Jamaica’s greatest bass players ever! A master of slap and funk bass and harmonics in the style of Stanley Clarke and the late Jaco Pastorious, Reid was for years the bass player at the Mutual Life jazz sessions. Other notable players at those Mutual Life jazz sessions included the outstanding drummer Desi Jones. By the 1990s, Reid was a bass player at Disney World in Florida. He is still active in bass playing in New York City.
Comment