Reggae Backing Bands

[Tropicana]

I want to learn more about the artists who created some of the greatest music of our time.

Back Band The Soul Vendors

Soul Vendors, The

Profile:

Studio One Studio Backing Band

In 1967 Clement Dodd decided to take a group of musicians to England. Alongside the singers Alton Ellis and Ken Boothe, he asked Roland Alphonso, Jackie Mittoo, Johnny Moore, Lloyd Brevett, Bunny Williams and Errol Walters. This group would be named The Soul Vendors and signalled the end of the short-lived Soul Brothers.
Shortly afterwards Jackie Mittoo recorded his first solo album "Jackie Mittoo in London" with The Soul Vendors. For the next three years Jackie Mittoo came into his own, as in-house producer and arranger at Studio One, as well as his solo career. (Soul Jazz Records)More

Aliases:

Peace Setters, The , Roland Alphonso & The Soul Brothers , Soul Brothers, The , Sound Dimension ,Soundemension, The

Members:
Alton Ellis, Bryan Atkinson, Bunny Williams, Errol Walters (2), Jackie Mittoo, Johnny Moore, Ken Boothe, Lloyd Brevett, Roland Alphonso

WOW I was wondering who was on keyboard and horns....now wonder this sounds so great.

I profiled him before:

Roland Alphonso

Profile:

Saxophonist;
Born January 12, 1931 - Havana, Cuba;

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The Almighty Bassline... Interview with Lloyd Brevett

The Skatalites form the backbone of Jamaican popular music. They strongly influenced a coming generation of musicians by creating original rhythms of a very high standard, and giving the island, and the world, its own identifiable sound. The engine of the band, which formed in 1964, was Lloyd Knibb on drums and Lloyd Brevett, the subject of this article, on upright bass. Steeped in mento, jazz and R&B, they put all of this into their own melting pot and out came the shuffling sound of ska which gave a start to the Jamaican record industry; a productivity which hadn't been the same before and wouldn't be the same thereafter. By the 1970s it was widely looked upon as the third largest in the world, and the Skatalites was the foundation of it all. Lloyd Brevett was born into a musical family. His father played bass in jazz groups when Lloyd was a youth, but became himself a master of the instrument and began his career playing in various jazz outfits in Kingston. Over the past few years several of the later Skatalites recordings led by Lloyd, such as the 'African Roots' album, originally a mid seventies LP on Tropical Soundtracs, has turned up on British releases, even a dub project mixed by the late and great King Tubby. Brevett is no longer a permanent member of the group, and some of the reasons why is discussed in this interview. My thanks to Lloyd, Ken Stewart, Carlton Hines, Tim P, Donovan Phillips, and Steve Barrow.




Q: If we go back to where it began for you, you grew up in Kingston?


A: Yeah, I'm born in Kingston.


Q: What part?


A: I birth in Jones Town, at the time it was called Jones Town. It don't really adjoin to Trench Town, it was off Trench Town... Yes! Trench Town is adjoinin' to Jones Town, right.


Q: I think you have mentioned somewhere that your father played jazz in a big band at some point?


A: My daddy is about the first man that start to play bass, upright bass, in Jamaica. He played jazz, and at that time... Yeah, he play jazz, a little jazz, but at that time you have different, different little band, y'know. They play the jazz songs.


Q: And mento?


A: Yeah, yeah, mento and rumba, those type a music, calypso, and they played a few jazz tunes.


Q: So your father was the one who taught you the bass?


A: Yeah. And he taught me to make bass too!


Q: (Chuckles) Oh, so you practically built your first bass?


A: (Chuckles) Yeah, an' my daddy build his bass, make his bass, the one he played with.


Q: What was appealing about the bass then?


A: Well, at the time when I was learnin' to play bass, I never really much attracted to bass, I was attracted to drums. Yeah, I did like drums. When I start to play bass I was at some place that they called Coney Island, there my dad used to play. And when I learn to play the bass, my dad always take me there and let me hold the bass, I never get the time fe play the drums. And Lloyd Knibbs at that time, he was learnin' to play the drum, and the man that used to play the drum he always guide me to play the drum too. He used to make my dad learn the drum also.


Lloyd Brevett
Skatalites
Q: So that's where the first encounter with Knibbs was. I thought you met at Alpha (Boys School) for some reason.


A: No, Lloyd Knibbs wasn't at Alpha Boys School. Lloyd Knibbs was in his boy days at some Catholic people, they have a church round deh. That's how I know him.


Q: So none of you went to Alpha.


A: No, I don't go Alpha, I didn't go to Alpha. My dad taught me to play bass.

More: http://www.reggae-vibes.com/concert/...oydbrevett.htm

Lloyd Brevett

Skatalites

[Tropicana]

JOE Isaacs, the unheralded drummer who played on numerous hit songs during the 1960s, will be honoured at next week's Tribute To The Greats show in St Andrew.St Catherine-born Isaacs made his name as a session musician at Studio One, where he worked with greats such as keyboardist/arranger Jackie Mittoo, guitarist Lynn Taitt, bass player Brian Atkinson, percussionist Denzil Laing and several accomplished horn players including saxophonist Tommy McCook of The Skatalites.
With Atkinson, Isaacs made a formidable rhythm section that played on many Studio One classics.
Some of the songs he played on are Dancing Mood by Delroy Wilson; Hold Me Tight (Johnny Nash), The Loser (Derrick Harriott), Israelites (Desmond Dekker), Bend Down Low (The Wailers), Fattie, Fattie (The Heptones), Rougher Yet (Slim Smith) and The Cables' Baby Why.
Now 64 years old, Joe Isaacs is the subject of Studio One Drummie, a documentary by a Swiss film-maker released two years ago.

The 16th edition of Tribute To The Greats will be held Saturday at Curphey Place. Broadcaster Alan Magnus, show promoter Stephen Hill (posthumously), singer Carline Davis, dance promoter Joseph 'Bragga' Russell and studio engineer Keith 'Sticky' Parke will also be honoured.

[Tropicana]

You know how long I've been asking who did the original of this riddim:

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From which we get....

and

.......okay now I know.

Sounds like they used the original backing tracks.