Emmanuel "Rico" Rodriguez (17 October 1934 – 4 September 2015), also known as Rico, Reco or El Reco, was a Cuban-born Jamaican ska and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

trombonist. He recorded with producers such as

Karl Pitterson Karl Pitterson is a Jamaican record producer and sound engineer. Pitterson began his career in the early 1970s as house engineer with Jamaican studios such as Dynamics, Federal, Randy's, Studio One, Treasure Isle and Aquarius. Over the course of ...

Prince Buster Cecil Bustamente Campbell (24 May 1938 – 8 September 2016), known professionally as Prince Buster, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer. The records he released in the 1960s influenced and shaped the course of Jamaican contemporary ...

, and Lloyd Daley. He was known as one of the first ska musicians. Beginning in the 1960s, he worked with

The Members The Members are a British punk band that originated in Camberley, Surrey, England. In the UK, they are best known for their single "The Sound of the Suburbs", reaching No. 12 in 1979, and in Australia, "Radio" which reached No. 5 in 1982. Ca ...

The Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Lynv ...

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric C ...

, and

Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. ...

Career

Rodriguez was born in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, and at an early age moved with his family to

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 His ...

.Campbell, Howard (2012)
Rico Rodriguez: Man From Wareika
, '' Jamaica Observer'', 22 June 2012; retrieved 24 June 2012. He grew up there in Kingston, and was taught to play the

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

by his slightly older schoolmate

Don Drummond Don Drummond (12 March 1932Cane-Honeysett, L: ''Don Drummond Memorial Album'', liner notes. Trojan 2009. – 6 May 1969) was a Jamaican ska trombonist and composer. He was one of the original members of The Skatalites, and composed many ...

at the

Alpha Boys School Alpha Cottage School (often referred to as Alpha Boys School, Convent of Mercy "Alpha" Academy and now called Alpha Institute) was the name of the vocational residential school on South Camp Road in Kingston, Jamaica, still run by Roman Catholic ...

. In the 1950s, Rodriguez became a

Rastafarian 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 ...

and was closely associated musically to the rasta drummer

Count Ossie Count Ossie, born Oswald Williams (23 April 1926Ancestry.com. Jamaica, Civil Registration Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1878-1995 atabase on-line Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. – 18 October 1976Moskowitz, David V. ...

. In 1961 Rodriguez moved to the UK, where he joined live bands such as

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the on ...

's Blue Flames"Musgrave For Rico Rodriguez"
''

The 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 ' ...

'', 9 October 2012. and started to play in

bands. Rodriguez also began recording with his own band, Rico's All Stars, and later formed the group Rico and the Rudies, recording the 1969 albums ''Blow Your Horn'' and ''Brixton Cat''. In 1976 he recorded the album ''

Man from Wareika ''Man from Wareika'' was the first album recording for Rico Rodriguez led by his own artistic imagination, and his first recording created for album release. It is notable for being the only roots reggae album to be released on Blue Note Records. ...

'' under a contract with Island Records. In the late 1970s, he recorded a song called Offshore Banking Business with

and with the arrival of the

2 Tone Two-tone, two tone, or 2 tone, etc., may refer to: Audio and sound * Two-tone analysis, in nonlinear system measurement * Two-tone attention signal * Two-tone chime, such as the "ding dong" sound of a doorbell * Two-tone sequential paging, sel ...

genre, he played with ska revival bands such as

including their single " A Message to You, Rudy". In 1982, he returned to Jamaica to retire from performing professionally; however, in 1987 he returned to tour with the Heart Beat Band, and between 1992 and 1995 he would also play with

Jazz Jamaica Jazz Jamaica is a British jazz/reggae music group formed by musician Gary Crosby in London formed in 1991. History In 1991, inspired by the rhythms of traditional Jamaican music and the largely improvisational nature of jazz, Gary Crosby — on ...

, as well as with

Linton Kwesi Johnson Linton Kwesi Johnson (born 24 August 1952), also known as LKJ, is a Jamaica-born, British-based dub poet and activist. In 2002 he became the second living poet, and the only black one, to be published in the Penguin Modern Classics series. His p ...

during this era. In 1995 Island Records released the album ''

Roots to the Bone ''Roots to the Bone'' was issued in 1995 by Island Records as a reissue of Rico Rodriguez' most important album, ''Man from Wareika'', (minus two tracks: "Rasta" and "Gunga Din") with some 12" sides from the late 1970s. Rico was musically very a ...

'', an updated version of Rodriguez's earlier work ''Man from Wareika''. From 1996, among other engagements, he played with

's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra and also performed at various ska

festivals A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

throughout Europe with his own band. He retired from performing with Jools Holland in 2012. He was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the 2007 New Year Honours, for services to music. In October 2012 he was awarded 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 a ...

by the

Institute of Jamaica The Institute of Jamaica (IOJ), founded in 1879, is the country's most significant cultural, artistic and scientific organisation:Campbell, Howard (2012)
Trombonist Rico Rodriguez gets his due
, ''Jamaica Observer'', 11 October 2012; retrieved 11 October 2012.

Death

On 4 September 2015, following a short illness in a London hospital, Rodriguez died aged 80. A tribute to him by Youthsayers alongside

Jerry Dammers Jeremy David Hounsell Dammers GCOT (born 22 May 1955) is a British musician who was a founder, keyboard player and primary songwriter of the Coventry-based ska band The Specials (also known as The Special A.K.A.) and later The Spatial AKA Orche ...

was performed at the Lambeth Country Show, 2016 to a crowd of 80,000.

Discography

* ''Reco in Reggae Land (Paying Tribute to

)'', Pama Records (1969) * ''

'', Island Records (1976) * ''Wareika Dub'', Ghetto Rockers (1977) * ''That Man Is Forward'',

2 Tone Records 2 Tone Records was an English independent record label that mostly released ska and reggae-influenced music with a punk rock and pop music overtone. It was founded by Jerry Dammers of the Specials and backed by Chrysalis Records. History ...

(1981) * ''Jama Rico'',

(1982) * ''Rising in the East'', Jove Music (1994) * ''Return from Wareika Hill'', Alpha Enterprise (1994) * ''You Must Be Crazy'' (live, as Rico & His Band), Grover Records (1994) * ''Wonderful World'', Quattro, (1995) * ''Get Up Your Foot'', (as Rico & His Band), Grover Records, (2000) * ''Going West'', (as Rico & Friends),

Creole Records Creole Records was a UK record label that found most of its success in the disco and reggae genres in the mid-1970s to early 1980s. Bruce White and Tony Cousins, who used the collective pseudonym Bruce Anthony, originally set up Commercial ...

(2002) * ''Togetherness'', (as Rico Rodriguez & Roots to the Bone Band), Subterannia Discos (2005) * ''Japa-Rico - Rico Rodriguez Meets Japan'',

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...

(2006) * ''Wareika Vibes'', Jamdown (2006)

References

External links

Rico Rodriguez
– unofficial site * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Rico 1934 births 2015 deaths Members of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Musgrave Medal Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican reggae musicians Reggae trombonists Jamaican ska trombonists Jamaican Rastafarians Jamaican emigrants to the United Kingdom The Specials members Island Records artists 2 Tone Records artists People from Havana Cuban musicians Jamaican people of Cuban descent Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra members The Spatial AKA Orchestra members

Career

Death

Discography

See also

References

External links