Jazz In Jamaica: The Coolest Cats From The Alpha Boys School Import LP

Talking about the foundation of Jamaican music, the Alpha Boys School in Kingston can be considered as one of the places where it all began. Back in the day, under the direction of Sister Mary Ignatius, the school was the place where young boys from the poor neighborhoods in Kingston could embrace an instrument (mostly brass and drums). Then history tells us that some of these kids became among the most influential musicians in the history of Jamaican jazz, ska, and reggae.

Joe Harriott, Dizzy Reece, Tommy McCook, Don Drummond, Cedric Brooks, Rico Rodriguez, Johnny Osbourne, Leroy Smart, and Yellowman are just some of the fruits of such a great community art project. Now this compilation contains some rare gems produced between 1959 and 1962 by Jamaican jazz heavyweights such as Tommy McCook, Don Drummond, Ernest Ranglin, Lennie Hibbert, Cecil Lloyd, and others. This is highly swinging music inspired by the Black American tradition with a unique and inevitable Caribbean flavor. Also features Wilton Gaynair, Lance Hayward, Totlyn Jackson, The Eric Grant Orchestra, Cecil Lloyd Group, The Workshop.