Triston Palma aka Triston or Tristan Palmer (born 1962,

Waltham Park Waltham may refer to: Business * Waltham Watch Company, American watch manufacturer, pioneer in the industrialisation of the manufacturing of watch movements * The Waltham system, industrial efficiency system Music * Waltham (band), American rock ...

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

) is a reggae singer/ deejay. He has been active since the mid-1970s.

Biography

Palma was born in 1962 and grew up in the Waltham Park area of Kingston, and decided from an early age that he wanted to be a singer.Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, van Pelt, Carter (1998)
Interview by Carter Van Pelt
, 3 February 1998 He began by singing to the accompaniment of Soul Syndicate guitarist Tony Chin. His first recording was "Love Is A Message" for producer Bunny Lee when he was eight years old, which was followed by "A-Class Girl" for the Black Solidarity label, which was co-run by Palma and Ossie Thomas.Rebel Base interview
/ref>Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn.", Rough Guides, Palma made a major breakthrough with his performance in 1979 at the General Penitentiary Memorial Concert for Claudie Massop, which also featured Bob Marley.Triston Palma Biography
", Big Up Radio At one point in the early 1980s, Palma had nine songs in Jamaica's Top 40. They included his biggest career hit, the dancehall influenced "Entertainment" produced by Nkrumah Jah Thomas and using a reworking of the rhythm from Vin Gordon's "Heavenless". Palma became a popular artist in the " singjay" style in the early 1980s. enjoying further successes with Jah Thomas including: "Water Bubbling", " Spliff Tail", "Raving", "Touch Me, Take Me" and "Run Around Woman". Palma has worked with Linval Thompson, who produced his ''Joker Lover'' and ''Settle Down Girl'' albums, and also George Phang, Tony Robinson, Sugar Minott, Bunny Gemini, and Castro Brown. In the mid-1980s, Palma became involved in the

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...

-relief charity project Music is Life, along with Freddie McGregor, Mutabaruka, Gregory Isaacs, Third World, Edi Fitzroy, and Steel Pulse, contributing to the charity single "Land of Africa". Palma's popularity continued through the 1980s with

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

hits that included "Lick Shot", a track that utilized rhythms by Robbie Shakespeare and

Sly Dunbar Lowell Fillmore "Sly" Dunbar (born 10 May 1952, Kingston, Jamaica) is a drummer, best known as one half of the prolific Jamaican rhythm section and reggae production duo Sly and Robbie. Biography Dunbar began playing at 15 in a band called ...

, and he also recorded extensively with

Style Scott Lincoln Valentine Scott (29 April 1956 – 9 October 2014), better known as Style Scott, was a Jamaican reggae drummer, famous for playing in the Roots Radics and, later, with Dub Syndicate. He also recorded and performed with Prince Far I, Bunn ...

, Errol Holt ( the Roots Radics) and renowned sound engineer

Scientist (musician) Hopeton Overton Brown (born 18 April 1960 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a recording engineer and producer who rose to fame in the 1980s mixing dub music as "Scientist". A protégé of King Tubby (Osbourne Ruddock), Scientist's contemporaries include ...

and in the 1990s he recorded the ''Three Against War'' song and album with Dennis Brown and

Beenie Man Anthony Moses Davis (born 22 August 1973), better known by his stage name Beenie Man, is a Jamaican Dancehall deejay. Biography Davis was born in the Waterhouse district of Kingston in 1973.Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Mus ...

. Palma has worked as a producer himself, working with artists such as Phillip Frazer, Josey Wales, and

Robert Ffrench Robert Ffrench (born 1962) is a Jamaican reggae singer and record producer. Biography Robert Ffrench grew up in central Kingston and attended Kingston College. He recorded his first singles in 1979, at the age of 17.McDonald, Kandré (2007)Rob ...

, and has provided backing vocals for singers such as Sugar Minott, Tony Tuff, and Freddie McGregor.Triston Palma at Roots Archives
/ref> He also built his own ''Star Creation'' studio.

Discography

Albums

*''Presenting Triston Palma'' (1981) Black Roots *''Fancyness'' (1982) Gorgon *''Joker Lover'' (1982) Jah Guidance *''Showcase In A Roots Radics Drum & Bass'' (1982) Midnight Rock/Vista Sounds/Gorgon *''Joker Smoker'' (1982) Greensleeves/Clocktower *''Touch Me, Take Me'' (1982) Midnight Rock/Vista Sounds/A&A *''Nice Time'' (1982) Jam Rock (with Toyan) *''Entertainment'' (1982) Midnight Rock *''Settle Down Girl'' (1983) Trojan *''The Big Showdown'' (1984) Black Solidarity (Trison Palma and Phillip Frazer) *''Triston Palma Meets Early B The Doctor'' (198?) Fantastique (Garrick Robertson Triston Palma and Early B) *''I and I and Inity'' (198?) Drum & Bass (with Philip Frazer) *''Wounded'' (1989) Bungem *''The Best of'' (198?) Rohit *''Three Against War'' (1995) VP (with Dennis Brown and Beenie Man) *''Triston Palmer Meets Jah Thomas Inna Disco Style'' (1996) Munich/Majestic *''Born Naked'' (1997) I&I Foundation *''On The Attack'' Blue Mountain *''Wounded'' Bungem *''Spliff Tail'' Black Solidarity *''Triston Palma Meets Michael Palmer'' Midnight Rock (with Michael Palmer) *''Two Roads'' (2000) Easy Star ;Contributing artist * '' The Rough Guide to Reggae'' (1997) World Music Network

Singles

*"Melissa" (1982) JR 7" *"My Father Love" Vasco 7" *"Spliff Tail" Black Solidarity 7" *"Another Girl" with Phillip Frazier Solidarity International 7" *"Ghetto Vibes" I&I Foundation 7" *"The Struggle" with Norris Man I&I Foundation 7" *"Can't Let Them Do That" (1997) Artistic 7" *"Jah Is In Charge" (1997) Ruff Stock 7" *"Cuss Cuss" (1997) Massive B 7" *"Original Fussing & Fighting" (1998) Ranking Joe 7" *"Sweet Reggae Music" "Corner Stone 12"

References

External links

Triston Palma
on Myspace
Triston Palmer at Last.fmTriston Palmer at riddimguide.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palma, Triston 1962 births Living people Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican reggae musicians Easy Star Records artists