Jamaica All Stars

The JAS is a history-making, virtual super-group of legendary artists consisting of four principal members: Justin Hinds, Skully Simms, Johnnie Moore and Sparrow Martin backed by a wonderful set of younger players drawn almost entirely from the renowned Alpha Boy's School that launched the famous Skatalites. Collectively these four men come to the project with more than 150 years of professional experience in Jamaica dating from the earliest recorded island music.

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Each of the four brings to the new album a historical perspective on Jamaican music that gives this group a unique repertoire spanning Mento, Ska and Rocksteady to reggae -- all presented with the kind of joyous, authentic vibes that have made Jamaican music popular worldwide. They are truly godfathers, teachers and ambassadors for forty years of popular music made in Jamaica and Right Tracks, their first studio album, is a wonderful introduction to the breadth and depth encompassed by four decades of Jamaican musical creativity.

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Justin Hinds' career began in 1964 for Duke Reid with his massive hit, Carry Go Bring Come and has never slowed down since. Skully Simms recorded extensively for Prince Buster and for Clement Dodd's Studio One label but it is a little known fact that his first record was one of the very first locally produced recordings way back in 1953. Johnny "dizzy" Moore was himself one of the founding members of the Skatalites and a master horn player. Less well known is Winston "Sparrow" Martin who began performing in the sixties with Carlos Malcolm & His Afro-Jamaicans and for many years has been the latest in a distinguished line of bandmasters at Jamaica’s prestigious Alpha School.