Music Blogs

The Mighty Mittoo: One of reggae's most influential composers and keyboardists, Jackie Mittoo is a legend who never received his due, but whose music remains vital and essential. An original member of The Skatalites, Mittoo also worked with little known Jamaican heavies like The Sheiks, The Soul Brothers and The Soul Vendors.  He contributed numerous Jamaican hits in the '60s, and went on to record a string of popular albums, including Wishbone, Reggae Magic and Let's Put It All Together. Throughout it all, Mittoo's music was characterized by a sweet soulfulness that is impossible to resist.

Now reissued for the first time on CD (and vinyl), Wishbone finds a home on ambitious label Light In The Attic. Reissued as part of their ongoing Jamaica To Toronto series, the album captures the sweetness, fire and ambition of this enigmatic reggae kingpin. After departing Jamaica in the late '60s, Mittoo landed in Toronto of all places, '71's Wishbone the first fruit of his musical/geographical journey.  Get Mittoo experienced!    

Jackie Mittoo
"Soul Bird" (mp3)
from "Wishbone"
(Light In The Attic)

More On This Album

Jamaica To Toronto: Soul Funk & Reggae 1967-1974: Who knows why, but in the early '70s, Toronto, Canada became a hotbed of reggae activity. Artists from such iconic labels as Studio One, Treasure Isle, Trojan, and WIRL made the Canadian city their home, bringing their buckling rasta sounds to a new audience fully enamored of their hip loosening beats and three-beat-to-the-bar sounds. Jackie Mittoo, Johnnie Osbourne, Wayne McGhie, Lloyd Delpratt, The Mighty Pope, Noel Ellis, Jo-Jo Bennett, and many others entered the local Toronto scene and its modern studios to record Jamaican soul for North American climes. Jamaica to Toronto: Soul Funk and Reggae 1967-1974 documents this participatory diaspora as yet another element of Light In The Attic's Jamaica to Toronto series, compiled by DJ/Canadian music historian Sipreano.

"Jamaica to Toronto has been over three years in the making," claims the press release, "a combination of deep crates, exhaustive research, and foundational tales presented with the same attention to detail as 2004's Wayne McGhie & The Sounds Of Joy release (LITA 008), the initial release in the Jamaica to Toronto series. The CD version of Jamaica to Toronto is accompanied with a 36-page book, exploding with unseen archival materials and extensive liner notes."

Songs on this colossal release include Eddie Spencer's "If This Is Love (I'd Rather Be Lonely)," Jo-Jo And The Fugitives' break-beat monster, "Chips-Chicken-Banana Split," Jackie Mittoo's "Grand Funk," The Hitch-Hikers featuring The Mighty Pope's "Mr. Fortune" and Johnnie Osbourne's "African Wake"--just for starters!

Jo-Jo And The Fugitives
"Chips - Chicken - Banana Split" (mp3)
from "Jamaica To Toronto: Soul Funk & Reggae 1967-1974"
(Light In The Attic)

More On This Album

Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators: Keep Reachin' Up: Light In The Attic not only handles reissues, but new artists, such as Nicole Willis and Finland funk collective The Soul Investigators. The Brooklyn-born Willis has worked with both Curtis Mayfield and the Brand New Heavies; The Soul Investigators have released two albums of purely eclectic modern soul.

Influential DJ Gilles Peterson has placed opening track "Feeling Free" in heavy rotation, while MOJO and Record Collector rated the release at four stars. "Keep Reachin' Up" may be retro, but like Amy Winehouse and Sia, great music never goes out of style.

"If This Ain't Love (Don't Know What Is)"