Piece Description

Guitarist Ernie Ranglin made his career quietly, as a sideman and arranger. He certaintly doesn't have the name recognition of many lesser reggae or dancehall stars, but you could argue that Ranglin was as responsible as anyone for the emergence of the distinctive sounds of Jamaican music. His jazz-flavored guitar playing can be heard on many of Bob Marley's first hits with the Wailers. He was musical director for Jimmy Cliff's band in the '70s. And Ranglin is often credited with inventing the upbeat style known as ska. In recent years Ranglin has stepped out of his sideman role, and made a diverse series of records that blend jazz, Jamaican and African styles. As in all the pieces in David Schulman's CPB-supported Musicians in their own words series, the story is told through a mix of the performer's voice and music. There is no reporter's voice heard, allowing the feature to be seamlessly incorporated into station news, talk, or music programming. Two mixes are provided for programming flexibility. A short mix is provided that will fit the new ATC cutaway. Scripts for intro and outro are attached, and may be edited at will. This piece debuts on PRX.