Wall Street

Jackie Mittoo's 'Wall Street' - I can't find the original release date but it was reissued in 2000 on the Soul Jazz release 'Jackie Mittoo - The Keyboard King at Studio One', and there are several repress 45s around too. The title 'Keyboard King' is well deserved - think of any famous reggae keyboard lick and its probably Mittoo (the classic 3 notes in Sound Dimension's 'Real Rock' for example). His own output for Studio One however is some of the most original and complex reggae I've heard, incorporating jazz, soul and funk influences to great effect with careful considered production.

'Wall Street' is a sombre and haunting affair - and this could not be more fitting in 2009. The deep reggae groove is not the centre of attention for a change, but bubbles away steadily whilst Mittoo's tremolo chords set the tone. Awesome stuff.


Jackie Mittoo - Wall Street


Jackie Mittoo on Discogs


Photograph by Charles Gatewood. See more of that here