Lloyd Brevett OD (1 August 1931 – 3 May 2012) was a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispanio ...

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar ...

ist, songwriter, and a founding member of

The Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including " Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many oth ...

. He was a

Rastafari Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control ...

an, and the uncle of

The Melodians The Melodians are a rocksteady band formed in the Greenwich Town area of Kingston, Jamaica, in 1963, by Tony Brevett (born 1949, nephew of The Skatalites bassist, Lloyd Brevett), Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton.

member, Tony Brevett.Tony Brevett's Unheralded Greatness
, ''

Jamaica Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to ' ...

'', 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013

Biography

Born in Kingston,

, Brevett was a founding member in 1964 of the

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

band The Skatalites. He toured many countries with The Skatalites, and produced two Skatalites'

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s, ''African Roots'' (1975) and ''The Legendary Skatalites'' (1976). He once stated, "Ska was our type of music that could lift the youth and make Jamaica known around the world". Brevett was awarded the

Order of Distinction The Order of Distinction is a national order in the Jamaican honours system. It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament (''The National Honours and Awards Act'') i ...

by the Jamaican government in 1981, and the silver

Musgrave Medal The Musgrave Medal is an annual award by the Institute of Jamaica in recognition of achievement in art, science, and literature.Webster, Valerie J. (2000), ''Awards, Honors & Prizes, Volume 2'', Gale Group, , p. 447. Originally conceived in 1889 ...

in October 2010.Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2012)
Brevett buried: Poor turnout for pioneer's funeral
, ''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a lon ...

'', 4 June 2012, retrieved 2012-06-04 He toured and recorded with The Skatalites from the beginning of their reunion until 2004, when he was removed from the group after conflicts with newer members. Brevett toured briefly with his own band, and then retired to Jamaica in 2005. On 3 May 2012, Brevett died at Andrews Memorial Hospital in St. Andrew, Jamaica at the age of 80. Brevett had suffered a stroke in March, two weeks after the fatal shooting of his son, Okine, one of ten children that he had. He was buried at

May Pen May Pen is the capital and largest town in the parish of Clarendon in Middlesex County, Jamaica. It is located on the Rio Minho river (Jamaica's longest), and is a major market centre for the Parish. The population was 61,548 at the 2011 cen ...

Cemetery.

References

External links

Photos of Lloyd Brevett

The Skatalites official website.
1931 births 2012 deaths Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica The Skatalites members Jamaican double-bassists Male double-bassists Recipients of the Musgrave Medal Recipients of the Order of Distinction Jamaican Rastafarians {{reggae-stub