Gemini All Stars De Ti Manno- ST

By my records, baring some major event in the next week, this should be post # 1000.  Whew.  This was on the high end of the scale at $8.  I do not get a whole lot of what ever I thought this was when I bought it.  Turns out it is a bit calypso, a bit reggae.  Pretty decent mix of both actually, straight from Haiti by way of Panama.

The singer on this post, Manno Antoine R Jean Baptiste or Ti Manno as he is better known, was born in 1953 in Gonaives, Haiti.  He was a very popular singer, musician, and band leader among Haitians.  With his avant-garde lyrics, he played in various bands before moving to the US in the 1970’s, first Boston and then New York.  After a few ventures, Ti Manno formed the Gemini All Stars, who made 5 albums.  In 1983, he became gravely ill from an undisclosed disease.  His illness led to a huge outpouring of the Haitian community, raising money for his treatment.  When he passed in 1985, a huge turn out of fans attended his service in Brooklyn. He was only 31.

This album was his first with the Gemini Allstars.  Leading the band, the album features two songs written by Ti Manno, as well as three songs written by others.  Pretty good stuff.  Again it is heavy on the calypso side with a shout out to reggae and a bit of funk.  I really liked both “L’Argent” and “Cantor”.

The highlight, however, is the ten minute plus “Hommage A B. Marley”, obviously, a tribute to the  reggae legend, Bob Marley.  The song contains a medley of Marley tunes, including “No Woman No Cry”.  Pretty decent number in all.  However, at the end of the tribute, To Manno breaks into  Jacob Miller’s “Tenement Yard”.  I am not sure why this was included in a Marley tribute , but I am not complaining.  Ti Manno’s version is excellent.  Well, as I do not like posting long songs, I excised Miller’s classic from the overall homage and have submitted it here as a sample.

Good little album.  Satisfactory.

Byron Lee and the Dragonaires- Reggay Hot Cool and Easy

DSCN4008This was $3.00 at a record show.  I snapped it up as I never see reggae records in my usual searches.  hqdefault

Byron Lee and the Dragonaires are apparently still active although without Lee who has been dead since 2008.  Lee formed the band in 1950 with his friend Carl Brady.  They would release 50+ albums.  Lee would also record and produce songs for other artists.  According to Wikipedia, Lee is responsible for introducing  the electric bass to Jamaica.  According to lore, he grew tired of hauling a double bass around.  The electric bass caught on and grew popular among Jamaican bands.byronlee50s

Another fun fact, they played the house band at a hotel in the first James Bond movie, Dr. No. If you can not put two and two together, that is Byron Lee playing the bass in the clip.

This album came out in 1972.  It was around their 18th album.  It is pretty good.  There are many good tunes on here. Some have vocals even.  But it is the grooves that hold the album together.DSCN4009

For a sample, I went with the Dragonaires’ cover of Isaac Hayes’ classic “Shaft”.  I also decided to throw in “Hot Reggay” as well.  It is St Patrick’s this month so things are going to get Irish for awhile.  Might as well reggae it up now while we can.byron-lee-cover-photoTop Rated Record for sure.