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Words by Jesse Serwer—
Over the weekend we received the news about the passing of Jamaican sax great Cedric Im Brooks. Brooks, who was 70, had been in a coma-like state for more than three years, before succumbing to cardiac arrest in New York City Thursday.
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Words by DJ Theory —
BIG week here at Mixtape Mondays. From the farm to the streets, we’re keeping it 100 and holding a meds (at the same damn time) while leaving room to reason with one of our favorite new artists and prepare for the wildest street party on Earth. Just another Monday around here…
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Words by Jesse Serwer—
Bassist, vocalist, composer and lyricist (along with Albert Griffiths) for the great roots reggae band The Gladiators, and a former house musician for Studio One and Lee “Scratch” Perry, Clinton Fearon is truly one of the unsung heroes of Jamaican music. The multi-talented Fearon—these days making his home in Seattle, Washington—recently revisited the Gladiators’ heyday, recording an acoustic album featuring new versions of some of the band’s toppa top tunes. He plays every instrument on the LP, called Heart and Soul: rhythm, bass and acoustic guitars, congas, calabash, cabasa, cowbell and comb, wooden frog, spoons. Although the songs come largely from the reggae era, the new versions have a pre-reggae, mento-like quality to them.
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Words by Jesse Serwer, Photo by Daryll Willoughby—
Life is good, it’s better when your life revolves around singing about having a good time ’cause your job is being a soca singer, and it’s even better if your name is Kees Diffenthaler. The leader of Trinidad’s Kes the Band just seems to be having an exceptional time at life, the latest exhibit being his video for “Tuesday on the Rocks,” his ridiculously catchy tune on Bambino Musik and Justin “Jus Bus” Nation’s Gyal Season riddim.
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Words by DJ Skratch Bastid—
Something slightly different this week on Throwback Thursdays. Toronto turntablist DJ Skratch Bastid traces the roots of Beenie Man’s “Memories” back to soul man Jerry Butler and shows how the Chicago R&B scene of the ’60s and ’70s has had a profound influence on music in Jamaica, and how that same Chicago-inspired reggae has made its way back to the U.S. through some classic samples.
