Jack Sparrow & The Wailers - Ice Water / The Skatalites - Ska In Vienna Woods

Ice Water! This 7" is interesting for quite a few reasons. First of all, it features the young The Wailers singing backups on the a-side. Secondly, Jack Sparrow was an early pseudonym for Leonard Dillon who would later go on and form The Ethiopians, a politically charged and Rastafarian influenced reggae act. And lastly because the instrumentals on both sides are provided by the famed Skatalites.

The a-side track was recorded for Sir Clement "Coxsone" Dodd at his seminal Studio 1 recording studio in 1965. It's got a powerful ska backing and a great trumpet solo by one of the founding Skatalites members, Johnny 'Dizzy' Moore. You can certainly here Peter Tosh's sharp voice cut through The Wailer's "Ice Water" shouts and The Bob Marley Compendium notes that both Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer are there singing as well. The Wailers provided backing vocals for many artists that came through Dodd's Studio 1 in the early days and many of the tracks are highly sought after.

The back side, "Ska In Vienna Woods," is an absolute killer ska instrumental chock full of impressive brass solos and harmonies. The Skatalites were absolutely essential in the foundation of ska music and many of the original members - Tommy McCook, Rolando Alphonso, Don Drummond, just to name a few - were huge players in the Jamaican jazz scene before ska music ever came into fruition. They backed all the early ska singers. To put it simply - The Skatalites defined ska music from its earliest conceptions and were instrumental in pushing the boundaries of the Jamaican music scene.

I was lucky enough to get to see The Skatalites live about a week ago! Unfortunately, most of the founding members have passed away, but the current line up continues The Skatalites' tradition without fail. I managed to get myself right up front because I knew this was a rare opportunity. They played a massive 2 hour set and brought out Doreen Schafer, "The Queen of Reggae Music" as they boasted, for a handful of songs. While the set was almost entirely instrumental, Doreen sang several songs including her own "Sugar, Sugar" and The Wailers' "Nice Time," and the trumpeter took vocals on a few such as Justin Hinds' "Carry Go Bring Come." It was a phenomenal show and they ended with their biggest hit "Guns of Navarone." Certainly a night to remember, and here's a picture to show for it...



Anyway, the two tracks on this disc are great and well worth your time!

Listen & download here:
A-side: Jack Sparrow & The Wailers - Ice Water
B-side: The Skatalites - Ska In Vienna Woods