Ranglin and Fraser have impeccably woven ska, reggae, jazz and other styles into their instrumental compositions for the album. “I wrote new songs because I am playing with young men, so I don’t want to put too much old something on there,” laughed Mr. Ranglin during an interview withat his home in the hills above Ocho Rios, Jamaica, in late March. The friendly, silver-haired guitar maestro exudes the warmth of a beloved uncle or grandfather.
Protecting a near nonagenarian from a virus that has disproportionally impacted the elderly meant stringent precautions had to be taken in Ernie’s recording sessions. “We recorded at two different studios,” explained Fraser. “Mr. Ranglin scored his songs, and I took them to Kingston, recorded them with the other musicians . With the help of bass player Dale Haslam, who coordinated everything so well for this project, we took those tracks back to the studio in Ocho Rios and Mr.
Ranglin admits to having been a jazz purist for a time, but due to the negligible financial returns, he ventured into Jamaica’s recording industry in the late 1950s and became one of the most in-demand musicians within Kingston’s studio circuit. As an A&R at Coxsone Dodd’s Studio One, considered Jamaica’s Motown because so many reggae artists started out there, Ranglin created the off-beat skat guitar strum that defines ska and, likely, gave the genre its name.