Thursday, November 27th
passings
Jimmy Cliff, singer, songwriter, actor, July 30, 1944 – November 24, 2025
“Many Rivers to Cross” (J. Cliff), live (studio), California (Santa Monica), 2012
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random sights
other day, Oak Park, Illinois
music clip of the day
jazz/blues/rock/classical/gospel/more
Category: Jamaica
2025
Friday, September 19th
sounds of Jamaica
Augustus Pablo (1953-1999, melodica), et al.
DJ Mix by Mista Savona (Heaviest Dubs & Versions), 2025
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Illinois (Conservatory)
2024
Thursday, May 30th
sounds of Jamaica
King Tubby: The Heaviest Dubs, published 2021
As a white London boy growing up in the 70’s, surrounded by my friends of west indian descent with their red, gold and green coloured wooly hats and King Tubby blasting from their portable cassette players, I learned to love the almost mystical sound of the incessant, almost hypnotic, bass.
—YouTube comment
2024
Monday, January 22nd
sounds of Jamaica
Rocksteady classical love songs (7 inch vinyl mix), Soul Skankin’ (DJ), 2015
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lagniappe
my back pages
On a cold, snowy night forty-seven years ago, at a church thirty miles north of Chicago, my wife, Suzanne, and I were married. Tenor saxophonist Von Freeman (1923-2012) and pianist John Young (1922-2008) provided the music, playing before the ceremony (“Over the Rainbow,” “It Never Entered My Mind,” “More”); during (Duke Ellington’s “In a Sentimental Mood” [unaccompanied saxophone], as Suzanne walked down the aisle), and after (“My Favorite Things,” “Song for My Father”). All of what they played that night can be heard here (0:14-).
2023
Thursday, September 21st
basement jukebox
Curtis Mayfield (1942-1999), “Gypsy Woman”
Milton Henry, 1976
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The Impressions, 1961
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
2023
Friday, August 18th
basement jukebox
Ken Boothe (1948-)
“Everything I Own” (D. Gates), 1974 (UK Singles Chart, #1)
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“Crying Over You” (L. Charmers, K. Boothe), 1974 (UK Singles Chart, #11)
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
2023
Thursday, August 17th
sounds of Jamaica
Mista Savona (DJ), King Tubby’s Heaviest Dubs (King Tubby aka Osbourne Ruddick, 1941-1989), published 2021
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lagniappe
reading table
Why is everything now geared to longevity? If everything’s directed at maximizing the number of years you live, you’re denying life itself.
—artist David Hockney (1937-), quoted in A Bigger Message: Conversations with David Hockney (Martin Gayford, expanded edition, 2016)
2023
Wednesday, July 5th
sounds of Jamaica
“Heavy Dub Mix Vol. 1 – Golden Age of Dub, 1975-1982” (Tracklist in YouTube Comments), published 2020
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Art Institute of Chicago (Van Gogh and the Avant-Garde: The Modern Landscape, through 9/4/23)
Vincent van Gogh, 1853-1890, The Bridge at Courbevoie (1887), detail
2022
Wednesday, December 21st
timeless
Gil Scott-Heron (1949-2011) And His Amnesia Express, “The Bottle” (G. Scott-Heron, B. Jackson), live, Jamaica (Reggae Sunsplash), 1983
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lagniappe
reading table
The hollow of morning
Holds my soul still
As water in a jar—Samuel Menashe (1925-2011)
2022
Saturday, October 22nd
basement jukebox
Phil Pratt & Ken Boothe, “Sweet Song for My Baby,” 1968
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lagniappee
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
music clip of the day 