Freedom sounds: The Skatalites celebrate 60 years of Ska at Saint Rocke
by Gavin Heaney Bouncing offbeat bursts of chordal horns, guitar and keys counterpoint walking bass lines as the high hat skips around the shuffling drum beat, accenting African and Caribbean rhythms. The ska is an offset boogie woogie groove that incites riotous dancing known as skanking and The Skatalites were the innovators of ska music, which is the cornerstone of rocksteady and reggae. For 60 years they have written, recorded and performed classic ska, reggae and rocksteady instrumental compositions, and backed legendary singers Bob Marley, Toots Hibbert, Desmond Dekker and of course their very own house singer, the queen of ska, Doreen Schaffer. Like the Funk Brothers or The Wrecking Crew in America, The Skatalites were the essential and under-recognized session players in Jamaica that were the roots of reggae. “They were intentionally trying to create something that was more indigenous to Jamaica,” said Ken Stewart, the band’s keyboardist of 37 years in an interview. “Independence was coming and everybody knew it. They wanted music they could call their own.” Jamaican Independence from Britain came in 1962 and the celebratory ska of The Skatalites resounded throughout the…
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