Artist Biography
Ernest Ranglin was born June 19, 1932 and grew up in the small town of Robin's Hall in the Parish of Manchester, a rural community In the middle of Jamaica. Music has always claimed a special place In the Island's culture, and Ranglin's destiny was set from an early age when two of his uncles showed him the rudiments of playing the guitar. When they discovered just how good the young boy was, they bought him a ukulele. Ranglin learned how to play by imitating his uncles, but he was soon to be influenced by the recordings of the great American jazz guitarist Charlie Christian. Living in rural Jamaica, however, inhibited the boy's ambitions, which, even at the age of fourteen, were focused on music. He then moved to Kingston - the country's capital - ostensibly to finish his studies at Bodmin College. Very high on Ranglin's agenda was to seriously study the guitar; something not on the school's priorities.
His lessons came from guitar books and late-night sessions watching the Jamaican dance bands of the time: he was particularly influenced by Cecil Houdini, an unrecorded local musician. By the time he was sixteen years old, Ranglin was acknowledged as the rising young talent in the city. In 1948 he joined his first group, the Val Bennett Orchestra, playing in the local hotels. Such was Ranglin's burgeoning reputation that he soon came to the attention of rival dance bands and, by the early-Fifties, he was a member of Jamaica's best-known group, the Eric Deans Orchestra, touring around the Caribbean and as far north as the Bahamas.
The big bands gave Ranglin the hugely beneficial experience of learning how to orchestrate and arrange. The typical repertoire of the day Included tunes by Les Brown, Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton and Duke Ellington, together with Cuban music and the hot Broadway show songs. The constant tours also gave Ranglin a wider vision, meeting musicians from other traditions. Once, for instance, when he was working In Nassau his performance was heard by Les Paul, who gave Ranglin a guitar In admiration of his talents.
It was, however, back In Jamaica that his career was to be transformed by a chance meeting. In 1958 Ranglin was leading his own quintet, playing the leading hotels In Kingston and the resorts on the north of the Island. One engagement was at the Half Moon Hotel in Montego Bay, a show caught by a young would-be record producer called Chris Blackwell.
Immediately Impressed by Ranglin's extraordinary talents, Blackwell offered him the chance to make a record. The album featured a pianist called Lance Heywood on one side with Ernest Ranglin on the other: It was the very first release by Island Records and the start of a long association between Ranglin and Blackwell.
By the following year, 1959, Ranglin had joined the bassist Cluett Johnson in a studio group called Clue J and His Blues Blasters. This was a very different kind of style to the big bands. Jamaican music was in a state of flux, the traditional mento superseded by a tough urban stance influenced by the pervading sounds of American R&B. Johnson and Ranglin recorded several instrumentals for producer Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd at Federal - the only real studio facility on the island. The first of these tunes, Shuffling Bug, is widely regarded as the first example of ska, the shuffle rhythm which exaggerated the 'jump beat' heard on New Orleans' R&B records of the Fifties. Ska became the bedrock of Jamaican popular music, leading to rock steady, reggae, ragga and all the innovations the island has brought into the global mainstream.
Ranglin's fluent and versatile guitar style, coupled with his arrangement skills, meant he was in constant demand right through the ska era. In addition to his work with Prince Buster and Baba Brooks, Ranglin was also remembered by Chris Blackwell who, in 1962, had launched Island Records in Britain. Blackwell had a song he thought could be a pop smash. He also had a young Jamaican singer called Millie, who'd previously recorded some sides for Coxsone Dodd. In 1964 Blackwell brought both Millie and Ranglin to London; they recorded My Boy Lollipop which, in the spring of that year, reached number two in the UK chart. It went on to become a worldwide hit, the first time ska had infiltrated into the vocabulary of pop music.
In recent years, Ernest Ranglin has gone back to his roots and has made various cross cultural collaborations and concept albums. On Below the Bassline he covers some of the greatest songs of the rock and roll era. Memories of Barber Mack is Ernest Ranglin's tribute to the late Jamaican saxophonist Barber Mack. The Search of the Lost Riddim album took Ernest Ranglin to Senegal for his first visit since the mid 1970's when he toured as part of the Jimmy Cliff band. These recording sessions represent the accomplishment of a dream he had cherished for over 20 years: returning to Africa to record with African musicians. Modern Answers to Old Problems is an adventuresome mix of jazz sophistication and Afro-pop syncopation, and finaly his last album Gotcha! shows what a perfect instrumentalist Ernest realy is.
https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/ernestranglin
Ernest Ranglin was born June 19, 1932 and grew up in the small town of Robin's Hall in the Parish of Manchester, a rural community In the middle of Jamaica. Music has always claimed a special place In the Island's culture, and Ranglin's destiny was set from an early age when two of his uncles showed him the rudiments of playing the guitar. When they discovered just how good the young boy was, they bought him a ukulele. Ranglin learned how to play by imitating his uncles, but he was soon to be influenced by the recordings of the great American jazz guitarist Charlie Christian. Living in rural Jamaica, however, inhibited the boy's ambitions, which, even at the age of fourteen, were focused on music. He then moved to Kingston - the country's capital - ostensibly to finish his studies at Bodmin College. Very high on Ranglin's agenda was to seriously study the guitar; something not on the school's priorities.
His lessons came from guitar books and late-night sessions watching the Jamaican dance bands of the time: he was particularly influenced by Cecil Houdini, an unrecorded local musician. By the time he was sixteen years old, Ranglin was acknowledged as the rising young talent in the city. In 1948 he joined his first group, the Val Bennett Orchestra, playing in the local hotels. Such was Ranglin's burgeoning reputation that he soon came to the attention of rival dance bands and, by the early-Fifties, he was a member of Jamaica's best-known group, the Eric Deans Orchestra, touring around the Caribbean and as far north as the Bahamas.
The big bands gave Ranglin the hugely beneficial experience of learning how to orchestrate and arrange. The typical repertoire of the day Included tunes by Les Brown, Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton and Duke Ellington, together with Cuban music and the hot Broadway show songs. The constant tours also gave Ranglin a wider vision, meeting musicians from other traditions. Once, for instance, when he was working In Nassau his performance was heard by Les Paul, who gave Ranglin a guitar In admiration of his talents.
It was, however, back In Jamaica that his career was to be transformed by a chance meeting. In 1958 Ranglin was leading his own quintet, playing the leading hotels In Kingston and the resorts on the north of the Island. One engagement was at the Half Moon Hotel in Montego Bay, a show caught by a young would-be record producer called Chris Blackwell.
Immediately Impressed by Ranglin's extraordinary talents, Blackwell offered him the chance to make a record. The album featured a pianist called Lance Heywood on one side with Ernest Ranglin on the other: It was the very first release by Island Records and the start of a long association between Ranglin and Blackwell.
By the following year, 1959, Ranglin had joined the bassist Cluett Johnson in a studio group called Clue J and His Blues Blasters. This was a very different kind of style to the big bands. Jamaican music was in a state of flux, the traditional mento superseded by a tough urban stance influenced by the pervading sounds of American R&B. Johnson and Ranglin recorded several instrumentals for producer Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd at Federal - the only real studio facility on the island. The first of these tunes, Shuffling Bug, is widely regarded as the first example of ska, the shuffle rhythm which exaggerated the 'jump beat' heard on New Orleans' R&B records of the Fifties. Ska became the bedrock of Jamaican popular music, leading to rock steady, reggae, ragga and all the innovations the island has brought into the global mainstream.
Ranglin's fluent and versatile guitar style, coupled with his arrangement skills, meant he was in constant demand right through the ska era. In addition to his work with Prince Buster and Baba Brooks, Ranglin was also remembered by Chris Blackwell who, in 1962, had launched Island Records in Britain. Blackwell had a song he thought could be a pop smash. He also had a young Jamaican singer called Millie, who'd previously recorded some sides for Coxsone Dodd. In 1964 Blackwell brought both Millie and Ranglin to London; they recorded My Boy Lollipop which, in the spring of that year, reached number two in the UK chart. It went on to become a worldwide hit, the first time ska had infiltrated into the vocabulary of pop music.
In recent years, Ernest Ranglin has gone back to his roots and has made various cross cultural collaborations and concept albums. On Below the Bassline he covers some of the greatest songs of the rock and roll era. Memories of Barber Mack is Ernest Ranglin's tribute to the late Jamaican saxophonist Barber Mack. The Search of the Lost Riddim album took Ernest Ranglin to Senegal for his first visit since the mid 1970's when he toured as part of the Jimmy Cliff band. These recording sessions represent the accomplishment of a dream he had cherished for over 20 years: returning to Africa to record with African musicians. Modern Answers to Old Problems is an adventuresome mix of jazz sophistication and Afro-pop syncopation, and finaly his last album Gotcha! shows what a perfect instrumentalist Ernest realy is.
https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/ernestranglin
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Biografía del artista
Ernest Ranglin nació el 19 de junio de 1932 y creció en el pequeño pueblo de Robin's Hall en la Parroquia de Manchester, una comunidad rural en el centro de Jamaica. La música siempre ha ocupado un lugar especial en la cultura de la isla, y el destino de Ranglin se fijó desde muy joven cuando dos de sus tíos le enseñaron los rudimentos de tocar la guitarra. Cuando descubrieron lo bueno que era el joven, le compraron un ukelele. Ranglin aprendió a tocar imitando a sus tíos, pero pronto se vio influenciado por las grabaciones del gran guitarrista de jazz estadounidense Charlie Christian. Sin embargo, vivir en la Jamaica rural inhibió las ambiciones del niño, que, incluso a la edad de catorce años, se centraban en la música. Luego se trasladó a Kingston, la capital del país, aparentemente para terminar sus estudios en el Bodmin College. Lo más importante en la agenda de Ranglin era estudiar seriamente la guitarra, algo que no estaba entre las prioridades de la escuela.
Sus lecciones provenían de libros de guitarra y sesiones nocturnas para ver las bandas de baile jamaicanas de la época: estaba particularmente influenciado por Cecil Houdini, un músico local no registrado. Para cuando tenía dieciséis años, Ranglin era reconocido como el joven talento en ascenso en la ciudad. En 1948 se unió a su primer grupo, la Val Bennett Orchestra, tocando en los hoteles locales. Tal era la creciente reputación de Ranglin que pronto llamó la atención de las bandas de baile rivales y, a principios de los años cincuenta, era miembro del grupo más conocido de Jamaica, la Eric Deans Orchestra, que viajaba por el Caribe y por el norte hasta las Bahamas.
Las grandes bandas le dieron a Ranglin la experiencia enormemente beneficiosa de aprender a orquestar y arreglar. El repertorio típico del día incluía temas de Les Brown, Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton y Duke Ellington, junto con música cubana y las canciones calientes del show de Broadway. Las constantes giras también le dieron a Ranglin una visión más amplia, conociendo a músicos de otras tradiciones. Una vez, por ejemplo, cuando trabajaba en Nassau, su actuación fue escuchada por Les Paul, que le regaló a Ranglin una guitarra en admiración por su talento.
Sin embargo, fue en Jamaica donde su carrera fue transformada por un encuentro casual. En 1958 Ranglin lideraba su propio quinteto, tocando en los principales hoteles de Kingston y en los resorts del norte de la isla. Un compromiso fue en el Half Moon Hotel en Montego Bay, un espectáculo capturado por un joven aspirante a productor de discos llamado Chris Blackwell.
Inmediatamente impresionado por el extraordinario talento de Ranglin, Blackwell le ofreció la oportunidad de hacer un récord. El álbum presentaba a un pianista llamado Lance Heywood de un lado y Ernest Ranglin del otro: Fue el primer lanzamiento de Island Records y el comienzo de una larga asociación entre Ranglin y Blackwell.
Al año siguiente, 1959, Ranglin se había unido al bajista Cluett Johnson en un grupo de estudio llamado Clue J y His Blues Blasters. Este era un estilo muy diferente al de las grandes bandas. La música jamaicana estaba en un estado de cambio, el mento tradicional reemplazado por una dura postura urbana influenciada por los sonidos omnipresentes del R&B americano. Johnson y Ranglin grabaron varios instrumentos para el productor Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd en Federal - el único estudio real en la isla. La primera de estas canciones, Shuffling Bug, es ampliamente considerada como el primer ejemplo de ska, el ritmo de shuffle que exageraba el'jump beat' que se escuchaba en los discos de R&B de Nueva Orleans de los años cincuenta. Ska se convirtió en la base de la música popular jamaicana, llevando al rock steady, reggae, ragga y todas las innovaciones que la isla ha traído a la corriente dominante global.
El estilo fluido y versátil de la guitarra de Ranglin, junto con sus habilidades de arreglo, significaba que estaba en constante demanda a lo largo de la era del ska. Además de su trabajo con Prince Buster y Baba Brooks, Ranglin también fue recordado por Chris Blackwell quien, en 1962, había lanzado Island Records en Gran Bretaña. Blackwell tenía una canción que pensó que podría ser un éxito. También tenía una joven cantante jamaicana llamada Millie, que previamente había grabado algunos lados para Coxsone Dodd. En 1964 Blackwell trajo a Millie y Ranglin a Londres; grabaron My Boy Lollipop que, en la primavera de ese año, alcanzó el número dos en la lista de éxitos del Reino Unido. Se convirtió en un éxito mundial, la primera vez que el ska se había infiltrado en el vocabulario de la música pop.
En los últimos años, Ernest Ranglin ha vuelto a sus raíces y ha realizado varias colaboraciones interculturales y álbumes conceptuales. En Below the Bassline interpreta algunas de las mejores canciones de la era del rock and roll. Memories of Barber Mack es el tributo de Ernest Ranglin al difunto saxofonista jamaiquino Barber Mack. El álbum The Search of the Lost Riddim llevó a Ernest Ranglin a Senegal para su primera visita desde mediados de la década de 1970, cuando realizó una gira como parte de la banda de Jimmy Cliff. Estas sesiones de grabación representan la realización de un sueño que había albergado durante más de 20 años: volver a África para grabar con músicos africanos. Modern Answers to Old Problems es una mezcla aventurera de sofisticación de jazz y sincopa afro-pop, y finalmente su último álbum Gotcha! muestra lo que es un perfecto instrumentista Ernest realmente.
https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/ernestranglin
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