Man From Wareika by Rico Rodriguez

Man from Wareika was the first album recording for Rico Rodriguez led by his own artistic imagination, and his first recording created for album release. It is notable for being the only roots reggae album to be released on Blue Note Records. After recording one track ("Africa") in London with engineer Dick Cuthell as a kind of a demo for label owner Chris Blackwell - its arrangement is completely different in comparison to the rest of the album and contains flute and chorus - Rodriguez was offered a contract to record this album; and he could arrange to record in Jamaica. After 15 years Rodriguez returned for the first time to Jamaica. He had left the country in 1961 when he was already heavily involved in creating the then new ska sound. In 1976 he added something new to reggae music. A critic wrote in 1977 that the album "does not just reflect the current popular trends, but ... expresses in a definitive way the Jamaican music tradition." The nine self-composed tracks on the album offer Jamaican rhythms with horn lines between a melodic use (e.g. on "This Day", "Lumumba") and jazz; the latter helped to define something like a new genre, Jamaican jazz, transforming the experience from early ska days into 1970s roots reggae. Most of the songs remain in Rodriguez's live repertoire until today. Some have been re-recorded by other artists as well as by himself.