Baba Brooks Explained

Oswald Brooks
Origin:	Kingston, Jamaica
Instrument:	Trumpet
Genre:	Reggae, ska
Label:	Studio One
Associated Acts:	The Skatalites, Prince Buster

Oswald "Baba" Brooks (born c.1935) was a trumpet player who played jazz in the 1950s with the Eric Dean orchestra and recorded during the 1960s original Jamaican ska era for producers Duke Reid, Sonia Pottinger and her husband Lindon, King Edwards, and Prince Buster.

Biography

Brooks was born in Kingston, Jamaica, around 1935.^[1] He played trumpet on recording sessions from the late 1950s onwards, often uncredited,^[2] and formed his own band in the early 1960s, having a hit in 1962 with "Independence Ska", which celebrated Jamaica's break from colonialism. He also performed on several sessions with the Skatalites. He had further hits in 1964 with "Bus Strike" and "Musical Workshop". The band followed this in 1965 with "Guns Fever", recorded at Studio One. Brooks and his band continued to play on recording sessions until the early 1970s.

Albums

Songs

• "King Size", B-side to the Saints' 'Brown Eyes'^[3]

External links

• Ska2soul.net: Oswald Baba Brooks
• Discography at Discogs

Notes and References

1. Larkin, Colin (1998) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae, Virgin Books,, p. 38
2. Thompson, Dave (2002) Reggae & Caribbean Music, Backbeat Books,, p. 335
3. Colin Larkin - The Guinness encyclopedia of popular music 1561591769 1995 -- Volume 1 - Page 561 "Baba Brooks played trumpet and in the early 60s had his own band whose recordings included the celebratory 'Independence ... to be a ska interpretation of 'Making Whoopee' and originally surfaced as the b-side to the Saints 'Brown Eyes'."