Batti Mamzelle were a London-based funk-psych octet comprised of Trinidadian musicians. The band released one album, I See the Light, on Cube Records in 1974. Vocalist Jimmy Chambers hailed from soul-rockers Dada. Percussionists Ralph Richardson and Russel Valdez played the steel drums on “Did You Ever Love Me” from the 1973 Fleetwood Mac release Penguin. […]
Bandolero were a Puerto Rican psych-rock band that released a self-titled album on small-press Truth in 1970. Members: Félix “Gadget” (drums, percussion), Ismaelito (keyboards), George Matos (bass), Junior “El Loco” (guitar), José Nogueras (vocals) Bandolero issued their singular album in the U.S. and Puerto Rico on one-press Truth Records in 1970. It features 11 originals […]
Raices was a Puerto Rican Latin-jazz/rock band that released a self-titled album on Nemperor in 1975. The band were a local supergroup comprising ex-members of Kaleidoscope, Space, and Cortijo & His Time Machine. Members: Juan Melendez (flute, soprano saxophone, clarinet), Amaury Lopez (fender rhodes, grand piano, clavinet, moog, acoustic guitar, percussion, vocal), Carlos ‘Kiko’ Melendez […]
King Errisson (born Oct. 29, 1941) is a percussionist from Nassau, Bahamas, who has appeared on hundreds of albums over a half-century career. During the late 1960s, he assisted soul-jazz and exotica recordings by Freddie Roach, Les Baxter, and Freddy Robinson, plus soul-pop foursome The Friends of Distinction. In 1970, Errisson released his Canyon Records […]
Billy Ocean — born Leslie Sebastian Charles (Jan. 21, 1950) — is a Trinidad-born/U.K.-based soul-pop singer with a career that dates back to the early 1970s. He first recorded as Les Charles, cutting two singles for Spark Records in 1971 and 1972. Two years later, he reappeared as the frontman of Scorched Earth, which cut […]
The Beginning of the End were a funk band from Nassau, Bahamas, that released two albums on Atlantic-subsidiary Alston during the 1970s. The first, Funky Nassau, spawned a stateside top-20 hit with the title-track. A lustrum later, the band issued Beginning of the End with Moog/Arp work by Three Chuckles legend Teddy Randazzo. Members: Raphael “Ray” […]
The 20th Century Steel Band were a Trinidadian calypso-funk ensemble that released two albums on United Artists during 1976 and 1977. Members: Fimber Bravo [aka Bravo] (pan, backing vocals), Goldfrun Moore (pan, backing vocals), Martin James (pan, backing vocals), Colin Moore (drums, backing vocals), Winston Findlay (pan, backing vocals), Gideon Rogers (pan, backing vocals), Mikey […]
Harry Beckett (May 30, 1935 — July 22, 2010) was a U.K.-based jazz trumpeter originally from the island of Barbados in the Lesser Antilles. During the late 1960s, he juggled England’s post-bop and jazz-rock camps with appearances on albums by Graham Collier, John Surman, Ray Russell, Jack Bruce, and Keef Hartley. In 1970, he made […]
Fal Frett were a jazz-funk band from the island of Martinique in the Lesser Antilles. The band released three numerically self-titled albums on the French 3A Production label between 1976 and 1982. A fourth eponymous album appeared on GD Productions in 1983, followed by the properly titled Cha Pistache on Celluloid in 1985. Members: Alex […]
Earl Rodney is a Trinidadian calypso vocalist, bassist, and steel-pan drummer who was primarily active between 1970 and 1983. During the 1970s, he provided backing work on albums by compatriots Black Stalin, Lord Nelson, Mighty Sparrow, and The Troubadours. In 1974, he released the album Friends & Countrymen on Antillana. Discography: Friends & Countrymen (1974)
Chili Charles (Oct. 9, 1946 — May 28, 2005) was a Trinidadian jazz-funk drummer/percussionist who released two albums on Virgin between 1973 and 1975. Discography: Busy Corner (1973) Quick Step (1975)
Manolo Badrena (born March 17, 1952) is a Puerto Rican Latin-jazz/funk percussionist who has been active since the mid-1970s. He first emerged as a member of the 1976/77 lineup of Weather Report, playing on the albums Heavy Weather and Mr. Gone. Around the same time, he served as a studio hand for George Duke, Gino […]
Luv Machine were a U.K.-based hard-rock/psych band that released a self-titled album on Polydor in 1971. Three of the band’s members hailed from the island of Barbados in the Lesser Antilles. Members: Michael Bishop (guitar, vocals), Bob Bowman (guitar, vocals), Errol Bradshaw (drums, vocals), John Jeavons (bass, vocals), Merlin Norville (bass) Discography: Luv Machine (1971)
Jon Lucien (Jan. 8, 1942 — Aug. 18, 2007) was a soul singer and musician from the island of Tortola in the Virgin Islands. Between 1970 and 1976, he released five albums on RCA and Columbia. For the 1973/74 albums Rashida and Mind’s Eye, him and producer Dave Grusin forged a samba-jazz/funk musical hybrid that […]
Joan Armatrading (born Dec. 9, 1950) is a U.K.-based singer/songwriter originally from the island of Saint Kitts in the Lesser Antilles. Between 1972 and 1992, she released 14 albums on A&M. She enjoyed some of her greatest success with a string of Glyn Jones-produced albums during the mid-to-late 1970s. Discography: Whatever’s for Us (1972) Back […]
T-Connection were a Nassau, Bahamas, funk band that released eight albums between 1977 and 1984. During the last three years of the ’70s, the band recorded four albums for T.K.-subsidiary Dash, scoring hits abroad with “Do What You Wanna Do” and “At Midnight.” A switch to Capitol generated four further albums during the early ’80s. […]
Roland Prince (August 27, 1946 — July 16, 2016) was a jazz-funk guitarist from Antigua and Barbuda, an archipelago in the Lesser Antilles. Between 1971 and 1975, he played on albums by Buddy Terry, Pete Yellin, Larry Willis, Elvin Jones, Shirley Scott, and Johnny Hartman. In 1976, Prince released his solo debut Color Visions on the […]
