Cedric was a jazz nut. Enrolled at Alpha Boys aged eight, he was soon revelling in Ruben Delgado’s new jazz course. He flourished under Lennie Hibbert’s directorship, before setting out in the early sixties with Sonny Bradshaw’s big band, followed by a residency with Leslie Butler and Hedley Jones playing jazz at Club 35 in Montego Bay; then stints with the bands of Granville Williams, Cecil Lloyd and Teddy Greaves. “Kind of easy listening jazz, mixed with some of the regular pop stuff, for dancing.”
Amazingly, by the end of the decade Cedric was living in Philadelphia, on the verge of moving in with the Arkestra. He jammed up in the hills with Count Ossie, at Rockfort; and towards the end of his life, he jammed on the New York subway. Sonny Rollins was his main man. Have another listen to him on Door Peep Shall Not Enter.

It’s all magnificently expressed in these two highlights of the Africa Calling LP, recorded at Treasure Isle with Errol Brown for producer Sonia Pottinger in 1977.
Expertly explosive brass arrangements and brilliant soloing, electric keys and wah wah guitar gently counterposed to nyabinghi group-drumming; with uncontrived spirituality, nothing easy or halfway-house.
Bim.

Roland Al tearing up Louis Jordan in 1962; plus a tasty, doowop-derived ska shuffle.
Both sides previously unreleased.

Tough harmonica version of Woman Of The Ghetto, with an excellent dub.

Next Bunny Wailer installment from Dubstore Tokyo. You know the drill: silkscreened sleeves, beautiful labels, and out of this world selecting, like this limber, jazzy gem, still wiser than Solomon.

From the Tree Person’s solo album Real Life And Fiction: a punky-folk drone with chimes; disconsolate cheer-leading on the flip.

Can’t bubble, can’t cook, can’t even dress properly.

Two songs from the Weh Dem Fah album — Wicked Can’t Run Away and Sleng Teng excursions.

Sweet Stalag business.

Trump-card trumpet version of Joyride, aka Riding West.

Brilliant, dazed and skewiff electro-pop from Fact magazine’s label of the year. The Autre Ne Veut is pretty great, too.