Page 77 - Reggae Festival Guide Magazine 2017

his childhood experiences in Jamaica and his

lifelong love of Jamaican music combine to

make this an excellent resource that sheds
light on the actual making of the music.

In nearly every great interview there’s a

moment where the person being interviewed

comes alive and speaks passionately on

the topic at hand. Bilby has gathered such
moments from hundreds of his talks with

foundational Jamaican music makers, and

placed them alongside gorgeous (mainly)

color photographs of the musicians speaking.

The result is a treasure trove of information and
insight into the music itself.

Much of the early part of the book actually

concerns the roots of Jamaican music that

preceded ska – music that grew out of
the spiritual movements like Pocomania,

Kumina, the revival sects and African-rooted

drumming from burro to Nyahbinghi. Best

of all, with the exception of his introduction
Words of Our Mouth, and explanatory footnotes, the entire story is

told by the musicians themselves, including
Meditations of Our Heart: seldom-interviewed players like Richard Ace,

Pioneering Musicians of Hux Brown, Lynn Taitt, Lloyd Parks and many
more. This book is a great addition to the
Ska, Rocksteady, Reggae growing body of works on Jamaican music.

& Dancehall In Fine Style, The

By Kenneth Bilby Dancehall Art of

(Wesleyan University Press, 2016) Wilfrid Limonious

There have been many books focused mainly By Christopher Bateman and Al Fingers

on reggae artists – singers and groups – (One Love Books www.onelovebooks.com, 2016)

and more recently, producers. Although it
includes some great singers including the Part of the music of Jamaica – the raw strains

late Justin Hinds, Joseph Hill and others, of ska, the sweet soulfulness of rock steady,

Kenneth Bilby’s exceptional new work deals the ragged reasoning of reggae and the

mostly with the players who created the underlying passion of dancehall – are the
music. His background in ethnomusicology, album covers that presented the music to

REGGAE FESTIVAL GUIDE 2017 77