SKATALITES

Skatalites: Doreen Shaeffer (vocals); Devon James (guitar); Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso (tenor saxophone); Nathan Breedlove (trumpet); Will Clark (trombone); Bill Smith (piano, organ); Lloyd Brevett (bass); Lloyd Knibbs (drums).
Additional personnel: Toots & The Maytals, Prince Buster, Val Douglas (bass); Larry McDonald (percussion); Joe Ferry, Doug Munro, Charlie B. Dahan (handclaps); Britt Savage, Kara Dioguardi (background vocals, handclaps); David Murray, Lester Bowie, Steve Turre, Monty Alexander.
Recorded at The Loft, Bronxville, New York. Includes liner notes by Don Snowden and Dermot Hussey.
HI-BOP SKA was nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.
A tighter and jazzier album than the Skatalites' first '90s reunion effort, 1993's SKAVOOVEE, 1994's HI-BOP SKA is closer to the ska-jazz fusion of 1983's STRETCHING OUT than the concise, hyperactive singles that made the group a legend on the ultra-competitive Kingston music scene of the mid '60s. Opening with a completely reworked version of their '60s signature hit "Guns of Navarone," slowed down with a cinematic Ennio Morricone flavor, the regrouped Skatalites settle into a series of exciting grooves, alternately slinky and skanking, with the enthusiasm of musicians half their age and the grace that only comes with experience. Guests include hornmen Steve Turre, David Murray and Lester Bowie, whose unexpectedly avant-garde trumpet solos give the songs an angularity they might otherwise lack. This is particularly notable on the Bowie-composed "Ska Reggae Hi-Bop," an 8-minute workout that's among the band's most exciting pieces. The other key guest is vocalist Doreen Schaeffer, whose cooing delivery on "You're Wondering Now" is the highlight of the entire disc.

Estimated despatch 21-30 days after ordering.