A Big Band With A Difference

Jazz Jamaica were founded by bassist Gary Crosby to celebrate his Jamaican roots and perform material gleaned from the heritage of ska and reggae in a jazz style. They gig frequently around the UK as a solid live act but in 2001, Crosby was able to put together a thirty piece big band as the Jazz Jamica All Stars for an appearance at the London Jazz Festival and to record this album, Massive. The expanded forces take the music on to an altogether greater artistic level and the members make a sort of who's who of the eighties and nineties UK jazz scene. The sax section includes such as Denys Baptiste, Andy Sheppard, Jason Yarde and Soweto Kinch, while the trumpet section has amongst its' members Guy Barker and veteran Blue Flame Edward Thornton. Trombones include Dennis Rollins and Annie Whitehead and along with piano, vibes ( Orphy Robinson ) and expanded rhythm section , there is even space for the tuba of Andy Grappy. Juliet Roberts, once of Working Week, sings on three tracks. The arrangements are full of fun and verve and invention and while the driving beat throughout is that of ska, the material given this treatment stretches to compositions by Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. Standout tracks for me are the opeing Ball of Fire, the medley of the thme from the Godfather and Al Capone and the tremendous workout given to that perennial favourite of football crowds, Harry J's The Liquidator which somehow morphs into Desmond Dekker's 007 and even Glenn Miller's In The Mood.