Artist Bio:
It's quite possible that no band that existed for a mere 18 months has had as much influence as the Skatalites. But the first phase of the Skatalites, which lasted from 1964 to the middle of the following year, was truly inspirational. A veritable dream team of Jamaican musicians, it was led by saxophonist Tommy McCook, and included such now-familiar musicians as Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Lester Sterling, Jah Jerry, Lloyd Brevette and the young Jackie Mittoo. They were all veterans of the fledgling Jamaican music scene, where ska had been born at the beginning of the decade, but their pedigrees ran much deeper.
Most had spent time playing jazz around the Caribbean, and many of them had grown up with music, graduates of Kingston's Alpha School for Boys, which had been a hothouse of Jamaican musical talent. All had been involved in session work for the new sound, and had been playing together, without a name, since 1963. Although nominally the house band for Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd's Studio One, they worked with all the top producers on the island, including Duke Reid and Sonia Pottinger.
With their well-honed jazz chops, they were the leaders in ska instrumentals, virtually ruling the Jamaican airwaves during their brief existence. However, their records also found release in Britain, where Drummond's "Man In The Street" hit the charts in 1965 (although it was a minor hit compared to the classic "Guns Of Navarone" in 1967).
The writing on the wall for the Skatalites V.1 appeared right at the beginning of 1965, when Drummond, one of ska's most prolific composers in addition to being a supremely talented trombonist, was jailed for the murder of his girlfriend. He was declared insane and institutionalized, committing suicide in a hospital four years later.
In August '65, the Skatalites played their final show, splitting into two bands, with McCook leading the Supersonics and Alphonso heading up the Soul Vendors. Good as they were, they couldn't recapture the magic of the Skatalites. And that might well have been the end of the story, just another piece of history, and a group that influenced every reggae band and ska revival group that appeared in its broad wake. But history does sometimes allow for second acts, and in the case of the Skatalites, it proved a lot longer than the first. In 1983, several of the original members were persuaded to reconvene for an appearance at Montego Bay's prestigious Sunsplash Festival. Inevitably, they were a huge success, a touch of real ska roots at a time when dancehall was just beginning its ascent.
To capitalize on their appearance, they toured Jamaica, then recorded their comeback album, The Return Of The Big Guns, before appearing in London. They were back—or were they? A number of the members moved to the U.S., but it wasn't until 1989 they put themselves in gear and began performing again regularly, with seven of the original members on board, and McCook still firmly in charge. Until 1998 they continued to tour and record regularly, garnering Grammy nominations (but never the Grammy itself) in 1996 and 1997. However, 1998 saw the deaths of both McCook and Lester Sterling, hard blows to the band. The Skatalites, though, have become bigger than any single musician—or even set of musicians. Drafting in new players, albeit veterans of Jamaican music, they continue to make albums and tour.
What was it, though, about that first period that contained such magic? In part it was the fact that the musicians, as a body, were almost ubiquitous. Their own 45s and LPs sold well, but they really made their name as studio musicians. Virtually every other disc made in Kingston's studios featured them as backing musicians. They came up with the arrangements, worked in concise, often adventurous solos, and were as vital to the record as the singer—possibly more so. They were prolific, but the quality of their work never suffered.
In some ways, the Skatalites are as much an idea as an entity, and certainly the instrumental high point of ska. They fit together perfectly, with the kind of chemistry that can't be calculated. To listen now to tracks like "Freedom Sounds" (their theme song), "Addis Ababa," "Christine Keeler" or "Skaravan," their take on Duke Ellington's "Caravan," is to realize that great music knows no bounds of genre or age. Ska might have made the Skatalites, but the Skatalites also made ska. — Chris Nickson, Courtesy Global Rhythm Magazine: www.globalrhythm.net
