Monday, February 19, 2018
Playlist: Reggae Instrumentals
By Mark Sampson
A Songlines playlist for Apple Music exploring the rarefied world of the pure reggae instrumental track, including Augustus Pablo, The Revolutionaries and Tommy McCook
What with toasters galore, charismatic singers and vocal harmony trios, reggae is probably primarily a vocal music. Given, too, the thin line between it and both ska and dub, it’s a challenge to find pure reggae instrumentals that don’t stray too far into forbidden stylistic territories. Nevertheless, here are 14 suggestions that feature artists renowned more for their prowess on instruments like the bongos (Bongo Herman), drums (Sly Dunbar), keyboards (Jackie Mittoo), guitar (Ernest Ranglin), saxophone (Tommy McCook) and melodica (Augustus Pablo).
