Foundation Ska (CD - 1996)

The Skatalites: Jerry Hines (guitar); Lester Sterling (alto sax); Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso (tenor sax); John Moore (trumpet); Don Drummond (trombone); Jackie Mitto (piano); Lloyd Brevett (bass); Lloyd Knibbs (drums).

Additional personnel: Bob Marley And The Wailers, Stranger Cole, Ken Boothe, Jackie Opel, Margarita, Doreen Schaffer (vocals)

Producers: C.S. Dodd, Duke Reid.

Compilation producer: C.S. Dodd.

Recorded at Jamaica Recording And Publishing, Federal Records, Kingston, Jamaica in 1964 and 1965. Includes liner notes by Chris Wilson, Brian Keyo, Lloyd Knibb and Roland Alphonso.

The influence of the Skatalites on reggae, and on popular music in general, cannot be overestimated. They virtually invented the mid-'60s Jamaican style known as ska by turning American R&B rhythms inside out and giving them an island lilt. Generations of musicians the world over have sought to recapture the magic that was so effortlessly created by the Skatalites on their classic '60s recordings, collected here on a juicy two-disc anthology.

Men like Jackie Mittoo and Roland Alphonso, who subsequently became premier session musicians in Jamaica, forged the Skatalites' unique, rhythmically propulsive sound. The horn stabs of R&B are inverted to punctuate the undulating staccato beat, and vocals, when employed at all, are used mostly as additional coloring. Pure ska, of the type represented here, is essentially an instrumental genre. "Simmer Down" features a young Bob Marley & the Wailers, making it plain just how important the Skatalites were in the development of Jamaican music. If you buy only one ska album, it should be this one. minimize