SAD NEWS TODAY
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Artist:Johnny "Dizzy" Moore
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Album:Alpha Boys' School: Music In Education
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Track:Tribute to Sir Alex
as the last but one of the original Skatalites horn players, trumpeter Johnny "Dizzy" Moore died of colon cancer in Jamaica on Sunday 17th, leaving alto saxist Lester Sterling as the sole surviving horns man. He has been reported as either 69 or 70 years old, and had been playing for close to fifty years, latterly in the revived Skatalites.
First up in this musical tribute is a solo tune, self-written and produced by Alton Ellis and the man himself in 1968
Comments (5)
As a youth, Johnny Moore loved music. Having found out that the best musical training on the island was to be had at the Alpha Boys Catholic School, which was only for boys who misbehaved, he ensured that he became rebellious enough to go there, where he learned trumpet at about the same time as Don Drummond, Tommy McCook, Lester Sterling and Raymond Harper were going through school.
His first professional gig was with the Mapletoft Poulle Orchestra. Mr Poulle was a middle class lawyer who played mento at weekends and in the evening; his Orchestra was a trifle more sophisticated than the earthier sounds of CVount Lasher, Lord Lebby or Chin's Calypso Quintet. This is their version of the old standard "Dip and Fall Back", from 1964
Of course, his finest hours were spent with the Skatalites, and their successor group after Don Drummond's incarceration for murder, the Soul Brothers. This is one of their most blazing ska tunes, written and arranged by tenorman Roland Alphonso, and released in 1966. Dizzy takes the second solo, lifting its opening from "Summertime". Check out the great guitar playing just as the tune fades as well.
This is "Miss Ska-Culation"
'tis a sad time, dangerous it seems to horn players.
That last tune is a ventures cover, no? Or is it vice-versa?
I'm not familiar with the Ventures, I have to say. A lot of ska tunes were in fact covers of Cuban/jazz/r'nb tunes, so it could be a cover - OTOH, East of Eden's "Jig a Jig" in 1971 had as its B-side "Marcus Junior" written by Don Drummond, so it wasn't one-way traffic
not Johnny Moore! how sad. and what a huge loss for reggae/ska music. thanks for the news, even as sad as it is.
R.I.Blissfull Peace Johnny...