Jazz Jamaica is a British

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

music group formed by musician Gary Crosby in London formed in 1991.

History

In 1991, inspired by the rhythms of traditional

Jamaican music The music of Jamaica includes Jamaican folk music and many popular genres, such as mento, ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub music, dancehall, reggae fusion and related styles. Reggae is especially popular through the international fame of Bob Marle ...

and the largely improvisational nature of jazz, Gary Crosby — one of the original

Jazz Warriors The Jazz Warriors were an English all-black London-based group of jazz musicians, that made its debut in 1986. The idea for the band came from the Abibi Jazz Arts, a London organization that promoted black music and black culture. The Jazz War ...

, jazz double bassist, and nephew of veteran

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n guitarist

Ernest Ranglin Ernest Ranglin (born 19 June 1932) is a Jamaican guitarist and composer who established his career while working as a session guitarist and music director for various Jamaican record labels including Studio One (record label), Studio One and I ...

Paul Taylor
"Gary's jazz journey"
''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 201 ...

'', 27 January 2006. — conceived a fusion of

mento Mento is a style of Music of Jamaica, Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. It is a fusion of African rhythmic elements and European elements, which reached peak popularity in the 1940s and 1950s. ...

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

and

styles in playing classic and modern

jazz standards Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list ...

alongside Jamaican folksongs. To achieve this, he gathered together a group of musicians drawn from the jazz and reggae circuits, to form Jazz Jamaica. Since its realisation, Crosby developed the Jazz Jamaica concept by introducing more young jazz musicians, so increasing the size of the pool of "Jazz Jamaicans", and enabling him to extend the boundaries of the music played. Crosby and his musicians are exponents of this musical fusion known as skazz, which has earned global appreciation. In March 1999, Crosby expanded the core lineup of Jazz Jamaica to formal big-band status by adding a number of guest soloists including

Denys Baptiste Denys Baptiste (born 1969) is an English jazz musician from London, England, where he was born to St Lucian parents. A graduate of Tomorrow's Warriors, Baptiste plays tenor and soprano saxophone in addition to composing. Baptiste played with ...

Andy Sheppard Andy Sheppard (born 20 January 1957) is a British jazz saxophonist and composer. He has been awarded several prizes at the British Jazz Awards, and has worked with some notable figures in contemporary jazz, including Gil Evans, Carla Bley, ...

Soweto Kinch Soweto Kinch (born 10 January 1978) is a British jazz alto saxophonist and rapper. Biography Born in 1978 in London, England, to a Barbadian father, playwright Don Kinch, and British-Jamaican actress Yvette Harris, Soweto Kinch began playin ...

Juliet Roberts Juliet Roberts (born 6 May 1962) is a British jazz, Rock music, rock, Soul music, soul and house music singer of Grenada, Grenadian descent. Career Roberts was born in London, England. She originally recorded as Julie Roberts in 1982, and per ...

Orphy Robinson Orphy Robinson MBE (born 13 October 1960) is a British jazz multi-instrumentalist who plays vibraphone, keyboards, saxophone, trumpet, piano, marimba, steelpans and drums. He has written music for television, film and theatre. Career Robinson ...

Guy Barker Guy Jeffrey Barker, (born 26 December 1957) is an English jazz trumpeter and composer. Early life Barker was born in Chiswick, London, the son of an actress and a stuntman. He started playing the trumpet at the age of twelve, and within a year ...

, Kevin Robinson,

Ashley Slater Ashley Slater (born 1961) is a British trombone player and best known for his narration on the television series Boo! as well as his work with Norman Cook (a.k.a. Fatboy Slim) in the band Freak Power. Career In 1983 after leaving the army, Sla ...

Annie Whitehead Lena Annie Whitehead (born 16 July 1955 in Oldham, Lancashire, England) is an English jazz trombone player. Career Whitehead learned the trombone in high school and participated in rock and jazz bands. When she was 16, she left school to become ...

, and Alex Wilson, resulting in the Jazz Jamaica All Stars, a 20-piece band featuring vocals, five saxophones, four trumpets, and four trombones with a rhythm section of double bass, piano, drums, guitar and percussion. In 2002, Jazz Jamaica won the best band award at the

BBC Jazz Awards The BBC Jazz Awards were set up in 2001 and had the status of one of the premier jazz awards in the United Kingdom (among those presenting the awards were Denis Lawson, Sue Mingus, Humphrey Lyttelton, Ian Carr, Clive James, Mike Gibbs, Julian Jos ...

. In 2004, Jazz Jamaica collaborated with

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for ...

and a choir of young people for a performance at the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

as part of the

City of London Festival The City of London Festival was an annual arts festival that took place in the City of London, England, over two to three weeks in June and July. The Festival was strongly geared towards classical music, but also offered a programme that included ...

marking

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

's 10th anniversary of democracy. In 2005, they released ''Motorcity Roots'', an album of reworked

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

songs, and toured the UK and Europe in support. ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' newspaper described Jazz Jamaica as "one of the UK's leading 'good-time' bands".

Albums

*''Skaravan'' (1993), Skazz Records (original release);

Hannibal Records Hannibal Records was a British record label and one of the first to work with the World music genre. Hannibal was started by Joe Boyd in 1980. Boyd had produced records by artists such as Nick Drake, The Incredible String Band and Fairport Co ...

(1996 reissue) *''The Jamaican Beat: Blue Note Blue Beat Vol. 1'' (1994), EAU Records *''The Jamaican Beat Vol.2: Jazz Jamaica Plays Blue Note Blue Beats'' (1995), EAU Records *''Double Barrel'' (1998),

*''Massive'' (as "Jazz Jamaica All Stars") (2001),

Dune Records A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

*''Motorcity Roots'' (2005),

Members

* Bass, Band Leader: Gary Crosby * Guitar:

Robin Banerjee Robin Banerjee (12 August 1908 – 6 August 2003) was a wildlife expert, environmentalist, painter, photographer and documentary filmmaker who lived at Golaghat in the Indian state of Assam. Biography Robin Banerjee was born on 12 August 1908 ...

, Alan Weekes * Piano, Keyboards: Alex Wilson, Clifton Morrison * Drums:

Rod Youngs Rod, Ror, Ród, Rőd, Rød, Röd, ROD, or R.O.D. may refer to: Devices * Birch rod, made out of twigs from birch or other trees for corporal punishment * Ceremonial rod, used to indicate a position of authority * Connecting rod, main, coupling, ...

, Kenrick Rowe * Percussion: Tony Uter * Vibraphone:

* * Saxophone:

Jason Yarde Jason Yarde (born 1970) is an English jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, producer and music director. He has worked with a wide range of artists and music ensembles, including Denys Baptiste, The Blind Boys Of Alabama, McCoy Tyner, Andrew Hil ...

Adam Bishop Adam Bishop is a professional strongman and former winner of the Britain's Strongest Man competition. Bishop refers to himself in the media as "one of the little guys" in the sport, despite weighing over 300lbs. Bishop has also competed in rugby, ...

*, Michael Rose* Patrick Clahar*,

Ray Carless Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (g ...

Tony Kofi Tony Kofi (born 10 July 1966) is a British jazz saxophonist and flautist. He leads a trio and quartet and is co-founder of the Monk Liberation Band. His trio includes drummer Winston Clifford and Hammond B3 organist Anders Olinder. Kofi is signe ...

*, Brian Edwards * Trombone: Harry Brown,

Barnaby Dickinson Barnaby is an Old English surname composed of the Saxon element ''beorn'' 'young warrior' and the Danish suffix ''by'' meaning 'settlement'. As a given name, it means "son of consolation" and is etymologically linked with the New Testament name Ba ...

Dennis Rollins Dennis Rollins, (born 1964) is an English jazz trombonist, the founder and bandleader of BadBone and Co. Early life and career Dennis George Rollins was born in Birmingham, England, of Jamaican parents, and raised in Bentley, Doncaster, wher ...

, Fayyaz Virji*,

Winston Rollins Winston may refer to: Places Antarctica * Winston Glacier Australia * Winston, Queensland, a suburb of the City of Mount Isa United Kingdom * Winston, County Durham, England, a village * Winston, Suffolk, England, a village and civil par ...

*, Rico Rodriguez * Trumpet:

Abram Wilson Abram Wilson (August 30, 1973 – June 9, 2012) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist raised in New Orleans and based in London where he also taught music in schools. Early life Wilson was born to Willie C. Wilson Jr and his wife Dor ...

Claude Deppa Claude Deppa (born 10 May 1958) is a South African jazz trumpeter born in Cape Town, South Africa, probably best known for his work with the Brotherhood of Breath and Carla Bley. Early life Claude Deppa was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and ...

Colin Graham Colin Graham OBE (22 September 1931 in Hove, England – 6 April 2007 in St. Louis, Missouri) was a stage director of opera, theatre, and television. Graham was educated at Northaw School (Hertfordshire), Stowe School and RADA. Early in his ...

*, Kevin Robinson*, Sean Corby,

Eddie Thornton Edward Thornton (born 1931), better known as "Tan Tan", is a Jamaican trumpeter, whose career began in the 1950s. Biography Thornton was born in 1931 and attended the Alpha Boys School.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) ''The Rough Guide to ...

* Tuba: Andy Grappy* * Vocals:

''Members of expanded "Jazz Jamaica All Stars" big band lineup indicated by *''

References

External links

* {{Authority control English jazz ensembles Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups from London