Ernest Ranglin, 83, is one of the founding fathers of reggae — he worked with Bob Marley and served as Jimmy Cliff’s musical director.
If you don’t know who guitarist Ernest Ranglin is, you’re part of a large crowd, but check this out. Ranglin, 83, is not only one of the founding fathers of reggae — yes, he worked with Bob Marley and served as Jimmy Cliff’s musical director — he plays in such a distinctive jazz style he was once hired as the house guitarist at Ronnie Scott’s, London’s longtime premiere jazz club.
Born in Jamaica, Ranglin played on early ska records — along with mento, the precursor to reggae — on which he developed the scratching, upbeat-forward rhythmic style that became part and parcel of the genre.