There’s a keyboard, organ and melodica tradition in JA that’s unique when compared to any other instrument’s progression over time. In the States, the way that the saxophone was utilized might potentially mirror that of all those aforementioned keys. Beginning as an instrument pushed back in the horn section, it took a few virtuosos to render the sax a solo instrument. Coleman Hawkins is usually credited with that. But in JA, Jackie Mittoo is roughly the equivalent on keys. With his moving to Canada, only returning every once in a while to record a session or two, there was a gap that needed to be filled.

Folks might figure that Augustus Pablo using the melodica took up the space vacated by the former Skatalite, but really, most of his recordings are cheese ball at best. There were other organ players, of course, but none that achieved the same sort of acclaim that Mittoo received. Perhaps due to the fact that he didn’t really work with vocal cuts too often, Bobby Kalphat isn’t frequently discussed. His work on the organ and melodica, though, should be reassessed and appreciated by a new generation of reggae fans. This isn’t the deepest roots, but there are some heavy grooves there.

Championing a kid’s instrument doesn’t sound like the best way to go about gaining any sort of notoriety. A quick attempt at singing, though, left Kalphat at a loss for what to do. And seeing as getting his hands on a drum set was an impossibility, he opted for keys. Beginning with piano, because most clubs had one available for musicians to use, Kalphat picked up music’s basics from one of his brothers who had a firm grasp on theory. Mentioning his tutelage as frequently as possible might have something to do with the fact that most JA players worked out compositions just by listening. In hearing the work Kalphat has been credited with, mostly as a sideman, the music doesn’t sound too drastically removed from whatever else was going on around the island. But it’s a rootsy sound, drenched in reverb and sparse enough for any dub fan to be pleased with after a few spins.

Beginning his career in the mid ‘60s Kalphat wasn’t really in demand because of Mittoo kicking around the island. An admitted disciple of the better known keyboardist, Kalphat used to goto shows and dances just to watch fans respond to different sounds and approaches to the keyboard. In his own playing – a good deal of it is rounded up on a seven inch compilation – listeners are privy to witnessing a keenly aware arranger take advantage of his observations. Of course, the recordings were made over the span of more than a decade. But the breadth of expression turned in as disparate approaches to his various instruments makes Kalphat something just short of a visionary. In the rap world, he’d be multi-millionaire mogul. Unfortunately, the instrumental has fallen out of favor and with that, part of Kalphat’s legacy.