Lennie Hibbert OD (born Leonard Aloysius Hibbert, 12 November 1928 - 8 September 1984)tropicmusic.com was a

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 musician who was bandmaster at the Alpha Cottage School, and also a

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist ...

virtuoso, recording two albums for Studio One.

Biography

Hibbert was born in Mavis Bank, Jamaica in 1928. At the age of eight he began attending the Alpha School, where he joined the school band as a drummer. He left the school in 1944 and played in several small orchestras before joining the Military Band in 1946. While with the Military Band he taught himself to play the vibraphone. In 1955 he returned to Alpha as bandmaster,Hyatt his students including Floyd Lloyd and

Vin Gordon Vin Gordon (a.k.a. Trommie, Don D. Junior or Don Drummond Jr) (born 4 August 1949) is a Jamaican trombone player. Biography Gordon grew up in Jones Town, Kingston, Jamaica as one of eight children. He went to Kingston's Catholic Alpha Boys S ...

. He worked as a live musician in jazz groups in the 1960s, and frequently worked with the Sound Dimension band, recording some of the best-known

riddim Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm". In the context of reggae and dancehall, it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the ...

s for

Clement "Coxsone" Dodd Clement Seymour "Coxsone" Dodd (26 January 1932 – 4 May 2004) was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond. He was nicknamed "Coxsone" at school due to his talent ...

.Thompson, p. 378Barrow & Dalton, p.90 He recorded his debut solo album, ''Creation'', for Dodd in 1969, comprising instrumentals featuring Hibbert's vibraphone playing.Barrow & Dalton, p. 93 A single from the album, "Village Soul", has been described as "simply one of the most beautiful instrumentals ever to emerge from Brentford Road". A second album, ''More Creation'', was issued in 1971.Chapman Hibbert went on to work with

Harry Mudie Harry A. Mudie (born 1940 in Spanish Town, Jamaica) is a Jamaican record producer.Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 315 Biography Harry Mudie attended the St Jago High School.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Vi ...

, with the "Margaret's Dream" single issued in 1974. In 1976 he was awarded the Order of Distinction (O.D.) for his contribution to music on the island and for his youth work. Hibbert died on 8 September 1984 (aged 55). He is commemorated at Alpha by the Lennie Hibbert Hall.Blowtorch He received a posthumous "unsung hero" award from the Jamaican Reggae Industry Association (JARIA) in 2009.Walters Hibbert was the uncle of reggae singer

Junior Delgado Oscar Hibbert (25 August 1958 – 11 April 2005),Greene, Jo-AnnJunior Delgado Biography, AllMusic. Retrieved 25 April 2016 better known as Junior Delgado, was a reggae singer, famed for his roots style. Biography Born in 1958 in Kingston, Jamai ...

.Katz, p. 210 He also taught music at Ocho Rios Secondary school prior to his death while living in Content Gardens Ocho Rios

Discography

Albums

*''Moon-light Party at the Myrtle Bank Hotel'' (1961), Beach - The Lennie Hibbert Combo *''Creation'' (1969), Studio One *''More Creation'' (1971), Studio One

Singles

*"Pure Sole" (1967), Dr. Bird - Lennie Hibbert &

Count Ossie Count Ossie, born Oswald Williams (23 April 1926Ancestry.com. Jamaica, Civil Registration Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1878-1995 atabase on-line Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. – 18 October 1976Moskowitz, David V. ...

Band *"Village Soul" (1969), Coxsone *"Montego Rock" (1971), Studio One *"Margaret's Dream" (1974), MHA *"Stick It Up" (1974), Moodisc *"Ital Vibes" (1974), Moodisc *"Far Beyond" (2001), Soul Jazz

Notes

References

*Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) ''The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn.'',

Rough Guides Rough Guides Ltd is a British travel guide book and reference publisher, which has been owned by APA Publications since November 2017. In addition to publishing guidebooks, the company also provides a tailor-made trips service based on custome ...

, *Blowtorch, Eric (2007)
Reports from Kingston, Jamaica
, OnMilwaukee.com, 20 June 2007 *Chapman, Rob (1996) ''Downbeat Special'', private press *Hyatt, Cottrell

, Alpha Old Boys Association *Katz, David (2000) ''People Funny Boy: the Genius of Lee "Scratch" Perry'', Payback Press, *Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, *Walters, Basil (2009)
JARIA honours unsung heroes of Jamaican music
, '' Jamaica Observer'', 6 March 2009

External links

Lennie Hibbert
at Roots Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Hibbert, Lennie 1928 births Year of death unknown People from Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica Jamaican reggae musicians Recipients of the Order of Distinction 1984 deaths