The Magical Light of Saba

2009 edition on Honest Jon's Records (originally released in 2003). This compilation is drawn from extremely rare singles and LPs featuring the work of Cedric "Im" Brooks - an old boy of the Alpha School in Kingston, Jamaica, alongside alumni like Don Drummond, Johnny Moore and Tommy McCook of The Skatalites, jazz-men Joe Harriott and Harold McNair, and too many other musical giants to mention. He was a member of The Vagabonds before Jimmy James moved the group to England, and during the '60s, toured Caribbean hotels and clubs with various big bands and combos. His own musical horizons -- especially new jazz music -- were increasingly distant from these constrained commercial contexts; and he eagerly accepted an invitation to visit a friend in the U.S. In Philadelphia, Cedric was awe-struck by the music and vibes of the Sun Ra Arkestra. He was on the point of joining the commune, when the birth of his second daughter necessitated his return to Jamaica. Amazingly, though, rocksteady was in full swing on the island, and Cedric took up Ra's challenge by starting The Mystics, to experiment with free-jazz and poetry, African robes and dancers. During this period, Cedric's long association with Studio One produced the hit single "Money Maker" and his musical direction of Count Ossie's Mystic Revelation Of Rastafari was commemorated by the classic Grounation triple-LP set, before his frustrations with purely rasta patterns encouraged him to set up The Light of Saba, in order to go into other aspects of African drumming. Taking leads from Hugh Masekela and Fela Kuti, the recordings of Cedric "Im" Brooks and The Light of Saba delineate "world music" way ahead of its time. The group offers a blend of African and U.S., Cuban and other West Indian influences - calypso and funk, rumba and be-bop, nyabinghi and disco - magnificently expressed as classic reggae.