Twenty five raw, rough and rocking Jamaican r&b instrumentals. Call it Blue Beat, J.A. Boogie, Jump Up, Shuffle Beat, Jump Blues or whatever else you like - before the birth of ska Jamaica was grooving to its own homegrown version of American rhythm and blues - played on boneshakingly loud sound systems. Most of the players had been recruited from the island's big band swing bands, musicians who later helped create ska, including most of the future members of Skatalites. You can hear the roots of ska beginning to form on the off-beat, with the guitar or piano going 'chang, chang, chang, ' pointing the way to the future of music in Jamaica. If you want the original source of ska and reggae music, you can find it right here on these grooves.
