Ska Bonanza: The Studio One Ska Years

Various Artists

album cover

The Best of an Underappreciated Scene

Ska is a mongrel. Though often described as the Jamaican response to American rock and roll, it also contains traces of New Orleans swing, as well as elements of R&B mento music, the Jamaican folk dance style. When gently stirred together, and framed by the steady lilt of an electric guitar hitting the offbeats, the result is a buoyant, instantly uplifting groove.

Ska coalesced in the mid-'60s around musicians assembled by the producer Clement Dodd, first at Federal Records and then at his famed Studio One. These players, among them reggae guitarist Ernest Ranglin, saxophonist Tommy McCook, and keyboardists Jackie Mittoo and Aubrey Adams, understood that the music had to be at once loose, like island music, and tight, like Southern R&B, to succeed. As this compilation demonstrates, the collective caught that elusive balance right away, both on kicky instrumentals (the set opener "Nimble Foot Ska") and when backing one of the scene's emerging vocalists (like Alton Ellis, whose "My Heaven" is a straight-up doo-wop ballad).

This two-disc survey captures a wide range of early ska, augmenting the radio singles with more experimental material. Among its treasures are several tunes featuring the "house band," the Skatalites, early ska attempts by Bob Marley and the Wailers, and agitated jive outbreaks by Don Drummond. Like many ska entertainers, Drummond recognized that he needed great musicians to put the sound across, and he sought to keep them happy by showcasing their talents. As a result, many of his singles have instrumental breaks featuring such enchanting soloists as Roland Alphonso, whose talkative saxophone was a key part of "the sound of young Jamaica."

Genre: World, Jamaica
Released: 2006, Heartbeat/Rounder
Key Tracks: The Skatalites: "Black Sunday." Alton Ellis: "My Heaven." Don Drummond: "Man in the Street"
Next Stop: Desmond Dekker and the Aces: Action!
After That: Jackie Mittoo: Wishbone
Book Page: 821

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