Jackie Mittoo - Reggae Magic
Jackie Mittoo’s ‘Reggae Magic’ is a new collection from the great Jackie Mittoo. The album features a mixture of classic tunes and rarities from the period 1967-74, when Mittoo was at the height of his musical powers.
Mittoo’s solo career began after the end of The Skatalites in 1965. He began pushing new musical boundaries, creating a uniquely identifiable organ-led funky reggae sound that owed as much to Booker T and The MGs, Jimmy Smith, Stax and Motown as to the post-ska and emergent rocksteady island rhythms of Kingston, Jamaica. His solo work at the legendary Studio One spanned seven albums and hundreds of singles. Aside from producer and founder Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd, it’s hard to think of anyone more central to the sound and success of Studio One than Mittoo; keyboard player extraordinaire, songwriter, arranger, musician, truly the Keyboard King at Studio One.
Jackie Mittoo had been the youngest founding member of The Skatalites (at age 16), probably the most important group in Jamaican music. After they split, he became leader of the three pivotal groups at Studio One - The Soul Brothers, The Soul Vendors and Sound Dimension. He also became musical director for Studio One helping create countless hits for singers Ken Boothe, Bob Andy, The Wailers, John Holt, Delroy Wilson and more – unforgettable tunes like Alton Ellis’ ‘I’m Still in Love with You,’ Marcia Griffiths’ ‘Feel Like Jumping’, The Heptones’ ‘Baby Why’ and others.
In the mid-70s, a new generation of Studio One singers and deejays including Sugar Minott, Freddie McGregor, Johnny Osbourne, Michigan & Smiley and others began once again creating new melodies over Jackie Mittoo's original instrumentals, signalling the birth of a new Jamaican style that became known as ‘dancehall’. As dancehall swept across the island, rival producers copied these now classic rhythms.
These original Jackie Mittoo-driven tunes spread like a virus throughout Jamaican music; be they the instrumental cuts to tunes such as Alton Ellis’ ‘Mad Mad’ , ‘I’m Just A Guy’, Larry Marshall’s ‘Mean Girl’, Slim Smith’s ‘Rougher Yet’, and instrumentals such as Mittoo’s classic ‘Hot Milk’ or ‘One Step Beyond’, The Sound Dimension’s ‘Real Rock’, ‘Heavy Rock’, ‘Full Up’, ‘Drum Song’, ‘Rockfort Rock’ … and the list goes on. These tracks became a constant soundtrack to the island, emitting from the ever-present sound of speaker boxes strung up around dancehalls.
Tracks on this album include ‘Melody Maker’, ‘Full Range’, ‘Ghetto Organ’ (rare instrumental of No, No, No), ‘Toronto Express’, ‘Black Out’, The Soul Vendors’ ‘Tropic Island’, ‘Sure Soul’ (instrumental cut to Horace Andy’s classic ‘Got to be Sure’) plus rarities like The Sound Dimension’s ‘Soul Stew’, The Soul Vendors’ ‘West of the Sun’, The Sound Dimension’s ‘Walk Don’t Run’ and more.
Black Vinyl 2 x LP
Tracklist:
1. Melody Maker
2. Full Range
3. Ghetto Organ
4. Toronto Express
5. Black Out
6. Fireball Rock
7. Tropic Island
8. Sure Soul
9. Taste Of Soul
10. Soul Stew
11. Reggae Magic
12. West Of The Sun
13. Hanging Tree
14. Peenie Wallie
15. Walk Don’t Run
16. Ba Ba Boom
17. Dark Of The Moon
18. Full Charge
Jackie Mittoo’s ‘Reggae Magic’ is a new collection from the great Jackie Mittoo. The album features a mixture of classic tunes and rarities from the period 1967-74, when Mittoo was at the height of his musical powers.
Mittoo’s solo career began after the end of The Skatalites in 1965. He began pushing new musical boundaries, creating a uniquely identifiable organ-led funky reggae sound that owed as much to Booker T and The MGs, Jimmy Smith, Stax and Motown as to the post-ska and emergent rocksteady island rhythms of Kingston, Jamaica. His solo work at the legendary Studio One spanned seven albums and hundreds of singles. Aside from producer and founder Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd, it’s hard to think of anyone more central to the sound and success of Studio One than Mittoo; keyboard player extraordinaire, songwriter, arranger, musician, truly the Keyboard King at Studio One.
Jackie Mittoo had been the youngest founding member of The Skatalites (at age 16), probably the most important group in Jamaican music. After they split, he became leader of the three pivotal groups at Studio One - The Soul Brothers, The Soul Vendors and Sound Dimension. He also became musical director for Studio One helping create countless hits for singers Ken Boothe, Bob Andy, The Wailers, John Holt, Delroy Wilson and more – unforgettable tunes like Alton Ellis’ ‘I’m Still in Love with You,’ Marcia Griffiths’ ‘Feel Like Jumping’, The Heptones’ ‘Baby Why’ and others.
In the mid-70s, a new generation of Studio One singers and deejays including Sugar Minott, Freddie McGregor, Johnny Osbourne, Michigan & Smiley and others began once again creating new melodies over Jackie Mittoo's original instrumentals, signalling the birth of a new Jamaican style that became known as ‘dancehall’. As dancehall swept across the island, rival producers copied these now classic rhythms.
These original Jackie Mittoo-driven tunes spread like a virus throughout Jamaican music; be they the instrumental cuts to tunes such as Alton Ellis’ ‘Mad Mad’ , ‘I’m Just A Guy’, Larry Marshall’s ‘Mean Girl’, Slim Smith’s ‘Rougher Yet’, and instrumentals such as Mittoo’s classic ‘Hot Milk’ or ‘One Step Beyond’, The Sound Dimension’s ‘Real Rock’, ‘Heavy Rock’, ‘Full Up’, ‘Drum Song’, ‘Rockfort Rock’ … and the list goes on. These tracks became a constant soundtrack to the island, emitting from the ever-present sound of speaker boxes strung up around dancehalls.
Tracks on this album include ‘Melody Maker’, ‘Full Range’, ‘Ghetto Organ’ (rare instrumental of No, No, No), ‘Toronto Express’, ‘Black Out’, The Soul Vendors’ ‘Tropic Island’, ‘Sure Soul’ (instrumental cut to Horace Andy’s classic ‘Got to be Sure’) plus rarities like The Sound Dimension’s ‘Soul Stew’, The Soul Vendors’ ‘West of the Sun’, The Sound Dimension’s ‘Walk Don’t Run’ and more.
Black Vinyl 2 x LP
Tracklist:
1. Melody Maker
2. Full Range
3. Ghetto Organ
4. Toronto Express
5. Black Out
6. Fireball Rock
7. Tropic Island
8. Sure Soul
9. Taste Of Soul
10. Soul Stew
11. Reggae Magic
12. West Of The Sun
13. Hanging Tree
14. Peenie Wallie
15. Walk Don’t Run
16. Ba Ba Boom
17. Dark Of The Moon
18. Full Charge
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