Jackie Mittoo 'Reggae Magic'

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MOJO REVIEW:

'Favourites and rarities from Jamaica's Studio One Hammond specialist'

'As the resident organist and musical arranger at Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd's Studio One, Jackie Mittoo played a pivotal role in the development of Jamaican popular music. Soul Jazz's excellent The Keyboard King At Studio One (2000) signalled their commitment to quality reggae reissues and this long overdue follow-up maintains the standard, showcasing Mittoo's ability to transform any given rhythm.

Landmark hits such as The Wailing Souls' Back Out, The Jamaicans' Ba Ba Boom and The Gaylads' There's A Fire are given creative organ transpositions and, on cuts of The Maytals' Monkey Man and Dawn Penn's immortal No No No, Mittoo takes the material in another direction, through melodic meanderings unrelated to the vocal line.

The rarities sound just as good too: Toronto Express is a slow-motion funk groove with unusual percussive accompaniment and West Of The Sun sees Mittoo trading licks with master guitarist Ernest Ranglin.' David Katz, Mojo ****