Lloyd Brevett OD (1 August 1931 – 3 May 2012) 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 ...

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

ist, songwriter, and a founding member of

The Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including " Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many othe ...

. He was a Rastafarian, and the uncle of

The Melodians The Melodians are a rocksteady band formed in the Greenwich Town area of Kingston, Jamaica, in 1963, by Tony Brevett (born 1949, nephew of The Skatalites bassist, Lloyd Brevett), Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton.

member, Tony Brevett.Tony Brevett's Unheralded Greatness
, '' Jamaica Gleaner'', 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013

Biography

Born in Kingston,

, Brevett was a founding member in 1964 of the

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 ...

band The Skatalites. He toured many countries with The Skatalites, and produced two Skatalites'

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

s, ''African Roots'' (1975) and ''The Legendary Skatalites'' (1976). He once stated, "Ska was our type of music that could lift the youth and make Jamaica known around the world". Brevett was awarded the

Order of Distinction The Order of Distinction is a national order in the Jamaican honours system. It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament (''The National Honours and Awards Act'') ...

by the Jamaican government in 1981, and the silver

Musgrave Medal The Musgrave Medal is an annual award by the Institute of Jamaica in recognition of achievement in art, science, and literature.Webster, Valerie J. (2000), ''Awards, Honors & Prizes, Volume 2'', Gale Group, , p. 447. Originally conceived in 1889 a ...

in October 2010.Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2012)
Brevett buried: Poor turnout for pioneer's funeral
, '' Jamaica Observer'', 4 June 2012, retrieved 2012-06-04 He toured and recorded with The Skatalites from the beginning of their reunion until 2004, when he was removed from the group after conflicts with newer members. Brevett toured briefly with his own band, and then retired to Jamaica in 2005. On 3 May 2012, Brevett died at Andrews Memorial Hospital in St. Andrew, Jamaica at the age of 80. Brevett had suffered a stroke in March, two weeks after the fatal shooting of his son, Okine, one of ten children that he had. He was buried at May Pen Cemetery.

References

External links

Photos of Lloyd Brevett

The Skatalites official website.
1931 births 2012 deaths Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica The Skatalites members Jamaican double-bassists Male double-bassists Recipients of the Musgrave Medal Recipients of the Order of Distinction Jamaican Rastafarians {{reggae-stub