Come Back to the Island How the Skatalites invented modern Jamacian music. by chris davis Except for maybe the Sex Pistols, who launched the punk movement before burning out in just over two years, the Jamaican supergroup the Skatalites may boast a larger impact on the global music scene in a shorter time than any other band. Playing at the Hi-Tone Cafe this Saturday, the band is on its 35th anniversary tour, but in its original formation, the group lasted a mere 14 months -- recording literally hundreds of sides and giving birth to all of modern Jamaican music and, by extension, many cultural explosions in England and the States. Formed in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1964, the nine-piece instrumental group featured trombone player Don Drummond, the first Rastafarian culture hero and the man usually credited with inventing ska, the first strand of modern Jamaican music. When they hear the term "ska," most Americans probably think of third-wave, suburban ska-core bands like Reel Big Fish; The Mighty, Mighty Bosstones; and No Doubt (before their successful New Wave makeover). But the original Jamaican musical form, probably best known by the astounding, soul-based records of Toots and the Maytals, has little sonic connection to an American hybrid that might be best described as watered-down punk with horns. Emerging in the early Sixties, seemingly as a soundtrack for, or expression of, Jamaica's new-found independence from Great Britain, ska was the first significant form of homegrown popular music to emanate from the island, in turn giving birth to one of the century's greatest musical explosions -- rock-steady to reggae, dub to dancehall. With its unique jumpy backbeat, R&B horn charts that would strike a chord with any Stax fan, jazz-style improvisation,and pop melodies, ska was an irresistible musical amalgam. A truly Pan-African music that began as a melding of pre-existing Jamaican big-band jazz and the New Orleans R&B (especially Fats Domino) that invaded the island via radio, ska eventually made room for Afro-Cuban influences, as well as that of American (and British -- the Skatalites often covered their more famous contemporaries, The Beatles) rock-and-roll. The Skatalites were -- much more than any other musicians -- the instigators of this movement. As the house band at producer Coxsone Dodd's Studio One -- itself considered the physical birthplace of modern Jamaican music -- the Skatalites backed up virtually every major vocalist of the era, including Justin Hines, the Maytals, the Heptones, and a young Bob Marley. The band also produced several albums and what is estimated as hundreds of instrumental 45s under its own name. Think of them, roughly, as a Jamaican equivalent of our own Booker T. and the MGs. Ska itself was relatively short-lived as the dominant strain of Jamaican music, giving way in the mid-Sixties, at roughly the same time as the original Skatalites called it quits, to a slower, transitional variation called rock-steady, and then to an even slower version called roots-reggae. Reggae, as we know it, developed soon after, with the bass getting pushed in front of the loping beat. By the mid-Seventies, with the great reggae film The Harder They Come emerging as a cult hit and Bob Marley emerging as a star, Jamaican music was an international force. After that, the music continued to develop, spawning more modern types, like dub and dancehall, and even indirectly giving birth to American hip-hop, which is a descendant of the Jamaican sound system and toasting tradition. All of this is directly traceable to the Skatalites. And that doesn't even take into account the various ska revivals that have taken place around the globe in the last 20 years, most significantly the Two-Tone movement in Britain in the early Eighties, with bands like the Specials, Madness, and the English Beat. The original Skatalites played their final show in 1965, with the mentally disturbed Drummond subsequently getting jailed and institutionalized for the murder of his girlfriend. They then splintered off into other groups, most notably with tenor saxophonists Tommy McCook (said to be the most prolific of Jamaican musicians) and Roland Alphonso leading the Supersonics and Soul Vendors, respectively. The band reunited in 1983 (sans Drummond, who died in an asylum in 1969) to play the Reggae Sunsplash Festival and finally regrouped for good in the U.S. in the late Eighties. In the intervening years, the band embarked on a 30th anniversary world tour in 1994-1995 and released the Grammy-nominated albums Hi Bop Ska and Greetings From Skamania in 1994 and 1996, respectively. The 1998 deaths of McCook and Alphonso leave the current incarnation of the group with three original members: drummer Lloyd Knibbs, bassist Lloyd Brevett, and alto sax player Lester Sterling. Doreen Schaffer, who recorded with the band during their original mid-Sixties run, has joined the group as vocalist. The graceful, energetic sound of the original Skatalites is probably best heard on Foundation Ska, a two-disc anthology released on Heartbeat in 1997, which captures 32, mostly instrumental tracks from the band's Studio One run. But if good reports from the band's last trip through town are any indication, this unique chance to see living legends in the flesh might be the best bet of all. The Skatalites Saturday, June 10th, Hi-Tone Cafe music notes by chris davis Nashville Bidness Everyone who complained about the Center for Southern Folklore getting kicked off Beale Street should take a look at Nashville's Music Row. It too is losing many of its indigenous attractions. The Country Music Hall of Fame is currently celebrating its last summer on that famed strip where Emperor Roy Acuff once ruled with an iron fist, but unlike Memphis' much-mourned center, the CMHF is moving into a much larger and nicer building in May 2001. That's great news for the museum, but it's lousy for Music Row. Nonetheless, two-step enthusiasts will be happy to know that the museum will be hosting its first Nashville Skyline Jamboree on June 15th. The event will feature boogie-traditionalists BR54-9, who will not only play their own set but also back special guests, including Alan and David Frizzell, brothers of tragic country giant Lefty Frizzell. Between the live sets, hillbilly-radio pioneer Ralph Emery will do some of his famous "plain talkin'" and spin platters from country's past, present, and future. Fan Fair, the country music industry's annual festival where fans actually have the opportunity to meet and greet their favorite stars (or get their pictures made in a hat that was actually worn by Garth!), will be at the Nashville Fairgrounds June 12th-16th. Chin-Chin Mr. Phillips What can you say about the spry octogenarian Sam Phillips that hasn't already been said? For those of you who have been living in a hole for the last half-century, he's Sun Records' visionary who discovered rock-and-roll, and shortly thereafter sold it to RCA for slightly more than the early settlers paid for Manhattan. Yes, indeed, Sam gave us Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Howlin' Wolf, and Little Milton -- to name but a few -- and these artists went on to influence a generation of musical legends from John Lennon to David Johanson. In fact, the work that Phillips has done to promote worldwide auditory damage can't be underestimated, nor can his praises be sung enough. On Thursday, June 8th, at The Orpheum, Sam "the Man" will be honored at a premier screening of A&E's Biography, which focuses on his life and the birth of rock-and-roll. Following the screening, a superband the likes of which has never been seen before will take to the stage for a jam session. Among the performers already scheduled to appear are Ike Turner, Jim Dickinson, and Jerry Lee Lewis. As of press time Elvis had not confirmed. Yo, Superfreak, Complete This Sentence: "Get ____!" (a) down, (b) funky, (c) up, (d) on up, (e) it on. But doncha worry none, baby; this ain't no test. It won't go down on your permanent record or nothing. Besides, all of the answers are correct. And if you said, "Sheee, man, don't none of that look right to me," you are also correct. The preferred answer is "get together." And why is that the preferred answer, my children? Because we can't get nowhere until we get together. At least that is the sentiment behind United We Funk, an all-star band featuring members of the Dazz Band, the Gap Band, the S.O.S. Band, ConFunkShun, and the Bar-Kays, with Rick James. These guys are touring behind the album United We Funk, a tribute to the innovative ZAPP frontman Roger Troutman who was killed in 1999. If you have a bootie to "shake, shake, shake," you might want to consider checking these guys out when they play The Orpheum on June 9th. If you are bootieless, stuff a pillow in your pants and check it out anyway. The World Is Not Enough It appears that the Map Room, a coffee-shop, neighborhood bar, and popular music venue that roared into existence just a few short years ago, has closed its doors for the last time. During its brief existence, the venue established itself as a premier showcase for both up-and-coming local bands as well as notable touring acts. The Joint Chiefs and Lucero both learned their chops there, and notoriously nasty filmmaker John Waters even showed up once to mingle with his fans. The sign on the door implies that the space is for lease, but the building's owner, Pinkney Herbert, was unable to confirm the closing. Though Map Room owner Virginia Ivy could not be reached for comment, Sal Ferrandino who books the space, announced that he is scrambling to find alternative venues for the bands he scheduled for the month of June.