The one great thing about keyboard virtuoso Jackie Mittoo and his album Wishbone from 1971 is that he had a really good understanding that blending reggae, soul, and ska music creates really really great music. This album, recorded at the age of 23 was Jackie Mittoo’s sixth album as a solo artist. Not bad for a man who was one of the founders of The Skatalities and the musical director for the legendary record label Studio One, the label that recorded Lee “Scratch” Perry, Bob Marley and the Wailers and every other great champion of reggae you can imagine. After relocating from his home of Jamaica to Toronto, Canada in 1968, he worked hard to popularize the reggae and funk sound in Canada that he was already known for, creating one of the best examples here of Jamaican tinged soul.
Wishbone is filled with numerous examples of his vibrant songs that have great groove and are easy to love and even easier to chill to. From the opening instrumental track “Satisfaction” straight down to the end, this is an organ heavy album. Think Jimmy Smith or Booker T & the M.G.s playing ska and uptempo Jamaican music. The song "Wishbone" has a ska beat, a precursor of reggae created in the mid-50s that gives the album the diversity it needs to be more than just your typical reggae recording. What makes this particular Mittoo album endearing, is the fact that this was the time period where musicians were still experimenting with styles and sounds, and Jackie Mittoo was definitely one of those musicians taking chances and making great music.
While this recording is not the best representation of Mittoo’s reggae side, it is a great example of his mastery of composition as he has horns, strings, ska, reggae, soul, jazz, and calypso music all blended into a tight album that is neither cheesy nor overbearing. Jackie Mittoo’s Wishbone is a groovy little album busting with soul and worth picking up for those interested in hearing one of the originators instead of listening to the imitators. |