Nat Birchall - DIMENSION OF THE DRUMS / Roots Reggae Instrumentals (Self Release)

"you couldn't ask for a better man than Nat Birchall to explore that fertile music period & respectfully entwine those sounds fifty years later.."

A few brief thoughts…

There's always been a healthy symbiosis between American & Jamaican music, with American R&B & jazz ringing out from the island's sound systems before reggae was even a thing. Today JA's producers are mostly eyeing the Billboard 100, but fifty years ago certain Jamaican musicians were kicking back to Davis, Lateef, Mayfield, Booker T & incorporating the vibes & licks they were soaking up into their Caribbean take on black music.

As a jazz saxophonist and long time reggae afficiando, you couldn't ask for a better man than Nat Birchall to explore that fertile music period & respectfully entwine those sounds fifty years later, a task he obviously relished. Make sure you dig out his other reggae LPs if you're feeling the vibe.

For more JA vibes head over to the Slow Dub Playlist.

What the release notes say:

This album was inspired by the music coming out of Jamaica in the mid 1970s, in particular the use of drum machines by Lee Perry and Aston Family Man Barrett (and Sly Stone in the USA) but also the instrumentals and dubs by Keith Hudson and Im & Count Ossie etc. Searching out, buying and listening to those records had a deep and profound effect on me and became a big influence on me as a musician, which continues to this day.
All instruments, recording and mixing by Nat Birchall.