Val Bennett (born Lovall Bennett, ?, died 1991) was a

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

n tenor saxophonist and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

roots reggae Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Ethnic groups of Africa, Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the ho ...

musician who began his career in the 1940s. He made a number of releases on the

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

and Crab Records labels.

Biography

In the late 1940s, Bennett led his own band, the Val Bennett Orchestra.Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , p. 28 Artists that played in Bennett's band included

Jah Jerry Haynes Jerome "Jah Jerry" Haynes OD (11 August 1921 – 13 August 2007) was a Jamaican guitarist and former member of The Skatalites. Haynes was born in Trench Pen, presently known as Trench Town, the cultural capital of Jamaica, in 1921. He learne ...

, Lloyd Knibb, and

Ernest Ranglin Ernest Ranglin (born 19 June 1932) is a Jamaican guitarist and composer who established his career while working as a session guitarist and music director for various Jamaican record labels, including Studio One and Island Records. Ranglin pl ...

, whose first professional experience was with this band. The Val Bennett Orchestra performed regularly at the Colony Club, performing mainly for foreign visitors to Jamaica.Campbell, Olivia Leigh (2004)
ERNIE RANGLIN: Making people happy with music
, ''

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

'', 29 March 2004 The band also toured abroad, performing in countries including

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

, where they picked up

méringue Méringue (; ), also called ''méringue lente'' or ''méringue de salon'' (''slow'' or ''salon'' méringue), is a dance music and national symbol in Haiti. It is a string-based style played on the guitar, horn section, piano, and other string ...

and played it on their return to Jamaica. In the early to mid-1960s, Bennett was a regular member 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 ...

's band, playing on many of the singer's best-known recordings, including "Al Capone".Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) ''The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn.'',

Rough Guides Rough Guides is a travel company that offers tailor-made trips planned and arranged by local travel experts based in destinations around the world. Originally established as a guidebook publisher in 1982, Rough Guides expanded into customized t ...

, , p. 31 Bennett was also a regular studio session musician, appearing on many releases from artists including Theophilus Beckford, Pat Kelly,

Barrington Levy Barrington Ainsworth Levy (born 30 April 1964) is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist from Clarendon, Jamaica. Career In 1977, Levy formed a band called the Mighty Multitude, with his cousin, Everton Dacres; the pair released "My Bla ...

, and

Delroy Wilson Delroy George Wilson CD (5 October 1948 – 6 March 1995) Greene, Jo-Ann, " Delroy Wilson Biography, allmusic.com, Macrovision Corporation was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer. Wilson is often regarded as Jamaica's first child s ...

. Bennett's session work included saxophone, horn, and

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

. In the late 1960s, Bennett joined

Bunny Lee Edward O'Sullivan Lee OD (23 August 1941 – 6 October 2020), better known as Bunny "Striker" Lee, was a Jamaican record producer. He was known as a pioneer of the United Kingdom reggae market, licensing his productions to Trojan Records i ...

's "All Stars". Notable tracks by Bennett include "The Russians Are Coming" (1968), a cover of "

Take Five "Take Five" is a jazz standard composed by Paul Desmond in 5 beat per measure, the melody relying on the blues scale, with harmony E-flat minor. It was first recorded in 1959 and is the third track on ''Time Out'' by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. ...

" by the Dave Brubeck Quartet,Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 392 which would later go on to be used as the theme tune to the British television series '' The Secret Life of Machines'' in the late-1980s; and "Tons Of Gold" (1970), with the

Harry J Allstars Harry Zephaniah Johnson (6 July 1945 – 3 April 2013), known by the stage name Harry J, was a Jamaican reggae record producer. Biography Born in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica, in 1945, Johnson started to play music with the Virtues as a bass p ...

, a version of their track " The Liquidator". Bennett also worked for producer

Lee "Scratch" Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, songwriter and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development ...

, and his

Spaghetti Western The spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's filmmaking style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

-inspired "Return of Django", recorded with Perry's studio band

The Upsetters The Upsetters was the name given to the house band for Jamaican reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. The name of the band comes from Perry's nickname of Upsetter, after his song "I Am the Upsetter", a musical dismissal of his former boss Coxs ...

was a major UK hit in 1969.Munroe, Norman (2003)
Lee 'Scratch' Perry wins Reggae Grammy
, ''

'', 24 February 2003 His track "Baby Baby" was also included on

' album '' Eastwood Rides Again''. Perry was the only producer to get Bennett to perform

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

, "Baby Baby" being one of these examples, the other being "Barbara".Katz, David (2000) ''People Funny Boy: the Genius of Lee "Scratch" Perry'', Payback Press, , p. 72

References

External links

Val Bennett discography at discogs.com

Val Bennett
discography at Roots Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Val Year of birth missing 1991 deaths Jamaican reggae musicians Jamaican jazz musicians Island Records artists

Biography

See also

References

External links