April 2009

<!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--> Listening to the production of any disc, it’s easy to guess when and where it’s from. For instance, taking a minute to absorb anything from Dub is a Weapon, listeners can tell that not only is this a new band, but it’s made up of mostly American players – and they like rock music as much as dub. This approach works for most types of music – although, I was just recently fooled by Chalawa.

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<!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--> While U-Roy has been around as long as any other singer from Jamaican musical history, his performances haven’t begun to show his age. Last summer, I was lucky enough to watch a set that he did in Seattle, and I would suspect that, even if he hadn’t been performing for a full house, the songs would have had roughly the same ebullience. He was able to include a litany of classics – including that one about wearing you to the ball. It was all pretty stunning to witness despite the inclusion of some out of place synthesizer noises.

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<!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--> Even amongst the most avid collectors of Jamaican esoterica, it seems that not all too much is known about Lennie Hibbert. He was a good deal older than most of the players that would eventually impact ska, reggae and rock steady being born in 1928. And after attending the Alpha School for Boys, Hibbert, who was already a voracious drummer, taught himself the vibraphone while serving in the military.

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<!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--> There are many things that I won’t ever understand about the Jamaican recording industry. And that’s fine. But I’ll always wonder why the singer of “Aramagideon Time” is alternately credited as Willi Williams and Willie Williams. It doesn’t matter, but being a bit obsessive about grammar, I’ve always noticed the name that he’s been billed under.

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<!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--> As restricted as folks felt during the ska period by the overt happiness spilling over from track to track, they would later feel the same thing during reggae’s cultural climb. And the middle ground being rock steady featured the same issues. Almost as tied to American musical tastes as ska, the rhythmic derivation from the previous period at least enabled acts to touch upon lyrical subjects other than relationships and the like.

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