The Skatalites are unique — the originators of a whole genre of music over their brief existence in Jamaica in the mid-sixties and then a stalwart institution supporting that syncopated movement since their reunion in 1983. Members come and go (50 years down the road, many of the founders are gone forever), but that dance beat and the beautiful sax and trumpet solos continue.
The band produced many fine tunes, but as a kind of conglomerate in Jamaica, backing other folks exploring the ska sound, they immortalized the work of visitors to the Skatalites’ stage. The clip here, recorded at the Church House Inn (I don’t know where it is) in 1990 represents the alchemy that made gold.
The first song, “Simmer Down,” was recorded with Bob Marley in 1964, before he simmered down to a reggae beat. The second song, “Turn Your Lamp Down Low,” was penned by Jackie Opel, a talented singer who performed and recorded briefly with the Skatalites in the ’60s. The singer in the 1990 concert is Patrick Gordon, a soulful Jamaican tenor who is never listed as a member of the band anywhere on the worldwide web.
All of this blather may be drier than a textbook, but the music is infectious. Everyone in the joint is bouncing around to that funny, syncopated beat. “Simmer” has an urgency to it that makes you want to get out of your seat. Then Gordon says “don’t stop” and the tune changes. When he sings the first words to “Lamp” — “I am I. Who are you?” and the minor chord rolls in. Well, things just get urgenter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8mxxx2wwdc
(The complete 1990 Church House Inn concert can be found here.)
