Rico Rodriguez & the Roots the Bone Band

Tutored by the great Don Dummond, Rico has been a solid bridge between the Jamaican and British ska scenes since their separate inceptions, playing with Prince Buster, Toots and the Maytals, Burning Spear, Linton Kwesi Johnson and the Police, among others. As well, he later joined the Specials as a full-time member after loaning his ‘bone to their hit "Message to Rudie.” Togetherness, culled from two Argentinean concerts in 2000 and 2001, sees the trombonist still spry and tone-rich as he approaches his seventh decade, delivering jazz influenced riffs and solos throughout a set list that includes some of ska’s perennial standards (i.e. the Skatalites’ "Eastern Standard Time”), as well as many of Rico’s own favourites, including "Some Day” and "Jam Rock.” The main strength of the disc is that the many facets of Jamaican music Rico has been involved with are present here: the Nyabingi drumming in the middle of "Ramblin’” harkens back to his days spent at a Rasta camp with Count Ossie, while a mellifluous intersection of ska, reggae, jazz and dub sounds make it impossible to forget that Rico was at the forefront of many of Jamaica’s musical evolutions.