Introduction:

Ask anyone who is into Ska music and most shall stare back blankly - it is a question regarding the America of the 1950s when American pop was the most influential entity on the bands worldwide. Thanks to the powerful, American radio stations without which the music wouldn\’t have waded past the waves of the Caribbean.

The Ska Spawning:

So it is Jamaica that we shall now be concentrating upon. With the changing economy, the natives of Jamaica could no more be satisfied with the traditional Jamaican music; what they wanted at this point of time was what that blared out of the radios\’ speakers. Call it adulteration or a corruption, but there\’s no denying the fact that it laid the seeds for shaping the Ska that we hear today, but how many of us really know that where all these got started? To know that, we must dig up the annals of history to find out what was going on in the 1920\’s and 30\’s regarding the local Jamaican band scene.

Mento - The mentor of Ska

This rural music form dominated the compositions of the local bands during that era; from wedding ceremonies to concerts and house parties, Mento had been the omnipresent factor. But the \’30s heralded the decline of Mento that slowly transformed to Ska over a twenty-year timeline. So, by the late 1950\’s, all that existed out of the authentic Mento were the token numbers, but nevertheless, the application of the Mento craft was something they couldn\’t shun away completely. Instead, a balance was achieved and the Jamaican mobile Disco became the pivot of all the DJs who traveled all over the island of Jamaica. The sound was distinctly an American one, the perfect food for all the souls who were hungry for knowing things that were coming out of America. The chief influences were no doubt the then-contemporary bands - ranging from Fats Domino, Louie Jordan to even Ray Charles. Tom the Great Sebastian, V Rocket and Sir Coxsone\’s Downbeat created the most dazzling examples in this regard.

From Rock to Riches

Things were not stagnant in America though; it was Rock-n-Roll that was outperforming the once Kings - R&B and Jazz. But Jamaicans could not identify themselves with Rock-n-Roll; neither could they dance to its steps. What proved worse was the scarcity of good, new R\’nB and Jazz records in Jamaica as well as a diminishing number of quality Mento musicians. But Mento survived among a niche crowd, despite all the adversities.

The Metamorphosis

The other music form that co-existed was Calypso, a genre in which the entire world was interested. This was an opportunity a few of the record producers (the most notable being Ken Kouri, Stanley Motta, and Chin) grabbed; they gave the Mento musicians a chance. More and more LP records thus saw the daylights and today\’s Jamaican music industry took birth, turning Mento into an international entity. It produced the conflict between big band jazz and Mento; between the upper and the lower class, musically. And just like too much of heat fuse disintegrable elements, Ska, a fusion style, was born.

SKAnning the form:

RnB melodies and a distinct, Jamaican Mento folk rhythm - this is what that defines the Ska as we know it today. Characterized by the influence of blues and swing jazz (the drums) in the second and fourth beats prove the American influence, followed by the guitar that carries the Mento sound. This lays the basic blueprint of Ska.

Ska and its influence

It goes without saying that Jamaicans latched on to Ska faster than a pregnant teen to her boyfriend. After all, it was Jamaica\’s first indigenous and original sound, brought into shape by such talents like Rolond Alphonso (tenor sax), Rico Rodriguez (trombone), Lloyd Knibbs (drums), Jerry Haynes (guitar) and Dizzy Moore (trumpet), Lloyd Brevett (bass) and Aubrey Adams (keyboards). Singers like Laurel Aiken and Clancy Eccles also contributed generously to the genre.

The Aftermath

What we get to hear today is the Third Wave of Ska, incorporating equally the classic 1960\’s sound along with Latin, Hard-Core, House, Rave, Funk and also, up to a certain extent alternative rock. And those who claim Ska dies during the 1980-s, would they be generous enough to SKAvenge its remains to prove the same?

Shilin Yin
Founder, Share user-uploaded original music and discover raw talents and Advertise freelance programmers, software developers, and babysitters.
Shilin Yin has an MBA in international business from California State University, Dominguez Hills, a Master of Music in piano pedagogy from Temple University in Philadelphia, and a Bachelor of Music in piano performance from Converse College in South Carolina.