Hi-Bop Ska

Performer: The Skatalites
Artist: Toots & The Maytals; Prince Buster; Joe Ferry; David Murray; Lester Bowie; Steve Turre; Monty Alexander
Engineer: Rick Angelori; Devin Emke; Peter Beckerman
Producer: Doug Munro; Joe Ferry; Randall Grass; Tommy McCook
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Skatalites: Doreen Shaeffer (vocals); Devon James (guitar); Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso (tenor saxophone); Nathan Breedlove (trumpet); Will Clark (trombone); Bill Smith (piano, organ); Lloyd Brevett (bass); Lloyd Knibbs (drums). Additional personnel: Toots & The Maytals, Prince Buster, Val Douglas (bass); Larry McDonald (percussion); Joe Ferry, Doug Munro, Charlie B. Dahan (handclaps); Britt Savage, Kara Dioguardi (background vocals, handclaps); David Murray, Lester Bowie, Steve Turre, Monty Alexander. Recorded at The Loft, Bronxville, New York. Includes liner notes by Don Snowden and Dermot Hussey. HI-BOP SKA was nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. Personnel: Monty Alexander (melodica, piano); Doreen Shaffer, Prince Buster, Toots & the Maytals (vocals); Devon James (guitar); David Murray, Roland Alphonso, Tommy McCook (tenor saxophone); Lester Bowie, Nathan Breedlove (trumpet); Will Clark, Steve Turre (trombone); William D. "Smitty" Smith (piano, organ); Lloyd Knibbs (drums); Kara DioGuardi, Britt Savage (hand claps, background vocals); Doug Munro (hand claps); Larry McDonald (percussion). Audio Mixers: Joe Ferry; Peter Beckerman; Randall Grass; Tommy McCook; Herbie Miller. Liner Note Author: Don Snowden. Recording information: The Loft, Bronxville, NY. Photographer: Richard Laird. A tighter and jazzier album than the Skatalites' first '90s reunion effort, 1993's SKAVOOVEE, 1994's HI-BOP SKA is closer to the ska-jazz fusion of 1983's STRETCHING OUT than the concise, hyperactive singles that made the group a legend on the ultra-competitive Kingston music scene of the mid '60s. Opening with a completely reworked version of their '60s signature hit "Guns of Navarone," slowed down with a cinematic Ennio Morricone flavor, the regrouped Skatalites settle into a series of exciting grooves, alternately slinky and skanking, with the enthusiasm of musicians half their age and the grace that only comes with experience. Guests include hornmen Steve Turre, David Murray and Lester Bowie, whose unexpectedly avant-garde trumpet solos give the songs an angularity they might otherwise lack. This is particularly notable on the Bowie-composed "Ska Reggae Hi-Bop," an 8-minute workout that's among the band's most exciting pieces. The other key guest is vocalist Doreen Schaeffer, whose cooing delivery on "You're Wondering Now" is the highlight of the entire disc.

Down Beat (6/95, p.58) - 4.5 Stars - Very Good Plus - "...The four founding members at the core of this reformed ensemble reaffirm their jazz roots in vibrant style here, with help from guests like David Murray, Lester Bowie and Steve Turre, whose occasional squawks and squeals fit right in with the jaunty riffs and jerky rhythms..." Option (3-4/95, p.133) - "...Skatalites are at the top of their game, conceptually as well as instrumentally. Always highly conscious of jazz motifs, here they're joined by pianist Monty Alexander...as well as horn-men David Murray, Lester Bowie and Steve Turre, adding extra layers of color, swing and mischief to the rapid-fire groove..."

Ska is to reggae as blues is to rock & roll, and as ska's founders and foremost practitioners, the Skatalites are the single most influential group in Jamaican music. Starting in the mid-'60s, the Skatalites forged a horn-led sound that merged Jamaican mento and calypso with American R&B and jazz, inverting the boogie woogie rhythm for an upbeat accent that would become the trademark of all subsequent reggae. Besides being a self-contained unit that over the years and various incarnations has included luminaries Don Drummond, Ernest Ranglin, Roland Alphonso, and countless others, the Skatalites also served as a house band for Coxsone Dodd at the legendary Studio One, backing a long line of singers on early ska, rocksteady, and reggae hits.

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