Rico Rodriguez

With one of the trademark sounds of Jamaican music, Rico Rodriguez's trombone playing lit up the classic early ska recordings and made him a hero of the UK's 2Tone movement in the 1970s and 1980s. Originally from Cuba, his family emigrated to Kingston, Jamaica in the 1930s where he learned trombone and studied classical at a specialist music school, before taking an apprenticeship as a mechanic. He played in Latin jazz bands in the early 1950s and became a regular session musician for legendary producers Coxsone Dodd, Prince Buster and Duke Reid before moving to England in 1961 and started performing at parties held by the London's West Indian community and helped kick-start a vibrant reggae scene. He began releasing his own singles in 1968 as Rico and The Rudies, and his debut album Rico In Reggaeland (1969) further enhanced his reputation, and he was picked up by Island Records to record with their rostrum of artists including Toots and the Maytals and Burning Spear. Mixing his Latin jazz style with roots reggae and African influences, Rico's classic solo record Man From Wareika (1976) was seen as his finest moment and he went on to open for Bob Marley and the Wailers on tour in Europe in 1978. He joined The Specials soon after and played on their iconic hit Ghost Town, and was idolised by a new generation of artists including Linton Kwesi Johnson, The Selecter and Ian Dury and the Blockheads. In the late 1980s, he returned to Jamaica and retired from the industry. He returned in the 1990s to release You Must Be Crazy (1994), Get Up Your Foot (2001) and Wareika Vibes (2006), going on to perform and record regularly with Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. And in 2007 he was awarded an MBE for his services to music.

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