Any early reggae fans in here?

[Brandon Burke]

One damn cool thing about living in New York... Coxone Dodd has a place in Brooklyn, and I'll be damned if that guy doesn't know pretty much everything there is to know about the Jamaican music scence since the 50's. What an absolute font of information!!! If ever there was a need for an autobiography, Sir Coxone's is it! His life story actually reminds me of Alfred Lion's in many ways (although I unfortunately never had a chance to meet Mr. Lion).

I completely agree. If I had the spare time I'd write that damned book.

[Peter]

There's no local store were you can get this stuff in Milwaukee. I've used Ernie B's a lot. Any other mail order sources? Thanks.

[Brandon Burke]

There's no local store were you can get this stuff in Milwaukee. I've used Ernie B's a lot. Any other mail order sources? Thanks.

Ernie B's is the place to go. In fact, most record stores that I know get their stuff from Ernie Bs as well. So......

You can always try Jammyland.

[Chuck Nessa]

To answer the original question - no.

Not a value judgment, just a life reality. I stopped spending energy on pop musics in the '60s. Because of my job running record stores from the late '60s to the mid '70s, a bunch of info was gained by osmosis, but otherwise I am blissfully free of the "popular world".

I am not bright enough to absorb all I would need from tv series, movies, pop music, world music, literature, art, dance, etc. to sound smart. I also needed a huge chunk of time/energy to try earning a living, raise my kids and still need more time for my "long-suffering" wife.

In my early twenties I thought I was "hot shit" in many of these fields, but as I entered my late twenties I consciously cut back.

I post this to give hope to list members feeling "out of place" in some of the discussions on the board. Just "dabble a bit" to make sure you are not "short changing" yourself. There's a bunch of info available on this board.

[Brandon Burke]

In my early twenties I thought I was "hot shit" in many of these fields, but as I entered my late twenties I consciously cut back.

I appreciate this entire post but I'm choosing to only comment on this one particular line....

As it happens, I'm 30 and going through this process as I type. I'm having to prioritize. Jazz is first and foremost but rocksteady and soul records are next in line. A fortunate consequence of this is that playing rock music is a totally different experience for me now. I'm totally unconcerned with whether or not my arrangement is going to sound "hip" or not because I don't like most of the rock records that are considered indeed "hip" these days.

The exceptions are the new Devenrda Banhart and Animal Collective records. Those guys make music in such a way that it's both completely foreign to me (considering my compositional leanings) and yet strangely familar from the word "go". In both cases, I completely agree with every aesthetic choice along the time path, yet I would never be able to see music that way in a million years. It's a very good thing.

Anyways.....I hear what you're saying.

Edited April 23, 2004 by Brandon Burke

[.:.impossible]

Hey Conn,

I have a friend at work whose in-laws are Chinese-Jamaican. I had never heard of this before. He tells me that there was quite a community of Chinese in Jamaica last generation. Most of them have since moved to Toronto Ontario.

Were you aware of this community while living in Jamaica? Sorry I don't know where they were, or what Province of China they came from, or why. These are all questions I asked!

[connoisseur series500]

Yes, I was very much aware of them.

We bought our groceries from Chinese merchants, and many Chinese-Jamaicans owned and operated small shops. They played a dominant role as merchants on the island.

Don't know which Chinese province/provinces they came from originally.

In general, you will find Chinese, Irish and Indian people just about everywhere on this earth. The diaspora was great.

Unfortunately, I don't have anything else to add on the subject. Some of the Chinese-Jamaicans even sponsored some of those dances I quoted.

One interesting group of Jamaicans were old Spanish-Jews who had escaped the Spanish Inquisition. Several of these families ranked amongst the richest Jamaicans. I can actually name some last names, which I have in a book, but that probably wouldn't interest too many people.

[Noj]

I'm a fan of early reggae, but I haven't invested much into it. I have some Marley, Tosh, Scratch Perry, King Tubby, Scientist, and a mix of dub by Madlib called "Blunted In The Bomb Shelter." I want to check out some of the stuff I see here...

[Alexander]

I like reggae, but I have to admit that I've never really checked out ska or rocksteady (except for American and British pop artists who were influenced by those genres). I listened to some samples on-line, and I think I'm ready for an intro. I've ordered the Trojan Rocksteady set (based on the discussion here) and the Deep Ska set. I'll let you know what I think of these when they arrive!

Once again, this board inspires me to part with my money (although these sets are so cheap...)!

[.:.impossible]

Conn, do you know how the Chinese population ended up on Jamaica? I didn't realize there were so many different cultures there. I have never been before.

[Jad]

Dig the early R&B styles. The vocallists (Slim Smith, Delroy Wilson, Ken Boothe, et al) remind me of the Motown or Stax sound.

The Skatalites covered "Sidewinder", the Baba Brooks band covered "Watermelon Man", both sounding very natural in the island style.

Hell, Clifford Jordan made some recordings for Studio One near the end of his career (although it sounded to me like he didn't know what to do with it, but the rhythems were nice).

[Peter]

Check out Junior Byles.

[J Larsen]

If you go to Jamaica sometime, you should try one of the Chinese restaurants. The indigenous Asian-Carribean fusion cuisine can be pretty interesting - though I get the impression that they dumb it down a little since the Chinese restaurants seem to draw mostly travelers.

[Brandon Burke]

Continuing along the Chinese-Jamaican thing.....It's worth noting that one of the biggest early reggae producers was a Chinese-Jamaican named Leslie Kong. His most famous production was "The Isrealites" by Desmond Dekker, featured prominently in the film The Harder They Come. Here's the link.....

King Kong Compilation

Edited April 29, 2004 by Brandon Burke

[Brandon Burke]

Forgot I even owned this thing until about 30 minutes ago (and it's doing a great job of keeping me awake while hammering out some late-night projects). Mostly early pre-ska material.

You don't even have to like reggae to dig this. Highest recommendation.

[connoisseur series500]

Conn, do you know how the Chinese population ended up on Jamaica?

I'm afraid I don't know, but I could do a little research on it.

Will get back to you on that if I find anything...

[catesta]

Conn, do you know how the Chinese population ended up on Jamaica?

I'm afraid I don't know, but I could do a little research on it.

Will get back to you on that if I find anything...

We waited 9 days for that answer!

WTF!!!

[catesta]

Paul, you had the coming, you're practically a stranger around here now.

[connoisseur series500]

Paul, you had the coming, you're practically a stranger around here now.

Sorry Chris. You're right on that. And everyone knows this board can't afford to lose another non-leftist!

Will see if I can post more down the road. Little time right now.

(I can't bear to glance over to the politics section. Johnny must be running amok without my firm and reasoned counseling.)

[catesta]

Johnny who?

[connoisseur series500]

One percent of the Jamaican population is Chinese. They came over between 1860 and 1890 as indentured servants. Then there was an additional wave of immigrants during World War I to work in agriculture.

Sources: History of the British West Indies, by Sir Alan Burns and Class, State, and Democracy in Jamaica, by Carl Stone.

I've got good sources...

[connoisseur series500]

We should re-title this as the "Jamaica and Johnny E" thread... B)

[RainyDay]

Apropos of nothing but every time I see this thread, I think it says "Any elderly reggae fans in here?" And it makes me smile because it makes no sense.

Okay, carry on.

[Brandon Burke]

Apropos of nothing but every time I see this thread, I think it says "Any elderly reggae fans in here?" And it makes me smile because it makes no sense.

Okay, carry on.

Hey man, I'm only 30 and this shit is my bread and butter.... B)

[Brandon Burke]

I recently stumbled upon this little gem at Amoeba.

Lennie Hibbert - Creation (Studio One, 1969)

As you might imagine, the cover alone sold me (as did the fact that it's a classic late-60's Studio One session). Turns out Hibbert is a vibist and the entire record is comprised of instrumentals. Most of them were new rhythms (at the time, anyway) but Jackie Mittoo, musical director on this date, included a couple of "hits" (a relative term here) for good measure.

Stylisticly, it's all over the place. The first tune sounds like it wouldn't be out of place on a Fela Kuti or Tony Allen record. One can even hear the musicans yelping and hollering in the studio near track's end. From there the mood shifts to a down-tempo funk number that reminds me of "Sittin' Duck" off of Gene Harris' Elegant Soul. Subsequent tracks run the gamut from 60's psych-soul to breakbeat funk and from the greasy BN sound to stuff that sounds more like Count Ossie and the Mystical Revelation of Rastafari.

This is the most exciting record I've run accross in ages. Unfortunately for our digi-locked friends, it's never been pressed on CD. LP has never gone OOP, however, and is available via Ernie B's or your local shop (provided they actually order reggae records).