SOUND DIMENSION

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Review written by Smaël Bouaici on Tuesday, February 19th 2008 - 12 710 views Soul Jazz is indulging itself with the Studio One catalogue, taken over from Coxsone Dodd, who was a big fan of the London label's jazz compilations. After thematic compilations, the Soul Jazz selectors, like many others, became hooked on the instrumentals of the Sound Dimension, Studio One's house band, which saw the greatest Jamaican singers of the day come and go. By way of anecdote, the Sound Dimension take their name from an echo chamber machine bought by Coxsone in England, when the group was opening for Jimi Hendrix. One can imagine the backstage jam... The line-up of the group that sat at Brenford Road is not very different from that of the Skatalites. The same legendary musicians are found. The gifted Jackie Mitoo, Studio One's chief arranger, Vin Gordon, successor to Don Drummond without the mental problems. Leroy Sibbles of the Heptones on bass, Ernest Ranglin on guitar, Horsemouth Wallace on drums, Dizzy Moore on trumpet, Monty Alexander as a session player.. Who can top that? On this record, you find the signature tracks of the era, in instrumental form, on which the fashionable singers feasted, from John Holt to Cornell Campbell, by way of Dennis Brown or Horace Andy. The Sound Dimension sessions and improvisations gave birth to some of the greatest anthems of Jamaican music. Rockfort Rock, Real Rock, Heavy Rock, Mojo Rocksteady and Drum Song are of this seed. These riddims would be covered dozens of times, from Channel One, who gave them a livelier rhythm, to the dancehall and digital producers of the following decades. Jackie Mitoo's keyboard gives you goosebumps, Ernest Ranglin slips jazz into his six-string riffs, and Horsemouth holds the fort with his gigantic smile. These 18 versions are the foundation of reggae as we know it. Gifted musicians for a legendary group and eternal melodies. Essential.

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