Val Bennett
Encyclopedia
Val Bennett was a Jamaica
n tenor saxophonist
and jazz
and roots reggae
musician who began his career in the 1940s. He made a number of releases on the Island Records
and Crab Records
labels.
, Lloyd Knibb
, and Ernest Ranglin
, whose first professional experience was with this band. The Val Bennett Orchestra performed regularly at the Colony Club, performing mainly for foreign visitors to Jamaica. The band also toured abroad, performing in countries including Haiti
, where they picked up merengue
and played it on their return to Jamaica.
In the early to mid-1960s, Bennett was a regular member of Prince Buster
's band, playing on many of the singer's best-known recordings, including "Al Capone". Bennett was also a regular studio session musician, appearing on many releases from artists including Theophilus Beckford
, Pat Kelly
, Barrington Levy
, and Delroy Wilson
. Bennett's session work included saxophone, horn, and trombone
. In the late 1960s, Bennett joined Bunny Lee
's "All Stars".
Notable tracks by Bennett include "The Russians Are Coming" (1968), a cover of "Take Five
" by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, which would later go on to be used as the theme tune to the British television series The Secret Life of Machines
in the late-1980s; and "Tons Of Gold" (1970), with the Harry J Allstars, a version of their track "The Liquidator". Bennett also worked for producer Lee "Scratch" Perry, and his spaghetti western
-inspired "Return of Django", recorded with Perry's studio band The Upsetters
was a major UK hit in 1969. His track "Baby Baby" was also included on The Upsetters
' album Eastwood Rides Again
. Perry was the only producer to get Bennett to perform vocals
, "Baby Baby" being one of these examples, the other being "Barbara".
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n tenor saxophonist
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and roots reggae
Roots reggae
Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of the artists concerned, including the spiritual side of Rastafari and with the honoring of God, called Jah by rastafarians. It also is identified with the life of the ghetto sufferer, and the rural poor...
musician who began his career in the 1940s. He made a number of releases on the Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
and Crab Records
Crab Records
Crab Records was a reggae label that issued releases from 1968 to 1971. Crab was a subsidiary of Pama Records, who along with Trojan Records, was one the major labels for reggae music in the UK...
labels.
Biography
In the late 1940s, Bennett led his own band, the Val Bennett Orchestra. Artists that played in Bennett's band included Jah Jerry HaynesJah Jerry Haynes
Jerome "Jah Jerry" Haynes was a Jamaican guitarist, former member of The Skatalites, rastafarian.Haynes was born in Trench Pen, presently known as Trench Town, the cultural capital of Jamaica, in 1921. He learned to play guitar from early years by his father and then by Ernest Ranglin...
, Lloyd Knibb
Lloyd Knibb
Lloyd Knibb OD was a Jamaican drummer who is primarily known for his contribution to the development of the rhythm of the Ska era. He played for The Skatalites , and for Tommy McCook & The Supersonics...
, and Ernest Ranglin
Ernest Ranglin
Ernest Ranglin O.D. is a Jamaican guitarist and composer. Best known for his session work at the famed Studio One, Ranglin helped give birth to the ska genre in the late 1950s...
, whose first professional experience was with this band. The Val Bennett Orchestra performed regularly at the Colony Club, performing mainly for foreign visitors to Jamaica. The band also toured abroad, performing in countries including Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, where they picked up merengue
Merengue music
Merengue is a type of music and dance from the Dominican Republic. It is popular in the Dominican Republic and all over Latin America. Its name is Spanish, taken from the name of the meringue, a dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar...
and played it on their return to Jamaica.
In the early to mid-1960s, Bennett was a regular member of Prince Buster
Prince Buster
Cecil Bustamente Campbell, O.D. , better known as Prince Buster, and also known by his Muslim name Muhammed Yusef Ali, is a musician from Kingston, Jamaica. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of ska and rocksteady music...
's band, playing on many of the singer's best-known recordings, including "Al Capone". Bennett was also a regular studio session musician, appearing on many releases from artists including Theophilus Beckford
Theophilus Beckford
Theophilus Beckford , also known by the nickname "Snappin'", was a Jamaican pianist who was one of the pioneers of indigenous Jamaican music.-Biography:...
, Pat Kelly
Pat Kelly (musician)
Pat Kelly is a reggae singer whose career began in the late 1960s.- The Techniques :Kelly was born in Kingston in 1949. After leaving school, he spent a year studying electronics in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States during 1966, before returning to Jamaica...
, Barrington Levy
Barrington Levy
Barrington Levy is a reggae and dancehall artist from Jamaica.-Career:In 1976, Levy formed a band with his cousin, Everton Dacres, called the Mighty Multitude; the pair released "My Black Girl" in 1977...
, and Delroy Wilson
Delroy Wilson
Delroy Wilson was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer.-Biography:Wilson released his first single "Emy Lou" in 1961 for record producer, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, at the age of thirteen...
. Bennett's session work included saxophone, horn, and trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
. In the late 1960s, Bennett joined Bunny Lee
Bunny Lee
Edward O'Sullivan Lee, better known as Bunny "Striker" Lee is a prominent, prolific and successful record producer best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...
's "All Stars".
Notable tracks by Bennett include "The Russians Are Coming" (1968), a cover of "Take Five
Take Five
"Take Five" is a jazz piece written by Paul Desmond and performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet on their 1959 album Time Out. Recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studios in New York City on June 25, July 1, and August 18, 1959, this piece became one of the group's best-known records, famous for its...
" by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, which would later go on to be used as the theme tune to the British television series The Secret Life of Machines
The Secret Life of Machines
The Secret Life of Machines is a television series presented by Tim Hunkin and Rex Garrod, in which the two explain the inner workings and history of common household and office machinery...
in the late-1980s; and "Tons Of Gold" (1970), with the Harry J Allstars, a version of their track "The Liquidator". Bennett also worked for producer Lee "Scratch" Perry, and his spaghetti western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
-inspired "Return of Django", recorded with Perry's studio band The Upsetters
The Upsetters
The Upsetters was the name given to the house band for Jamaican reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. The name of the band comes from Perry's nickname of Upsetter, after his song "I Am The Upsetter", a musical dismissal of his former boss Coxsone Dodd....
was a major UK hit in 1969. His track "Baby Baby" was also included on The Upsetters
The Upsetters
The Upsetters was the name given to the house band for Jamaican reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. The name of the band comes from Perry's nickname of Upsetter, after his song "I Am The Upsetter", a musical dismissal of his former boss Coxsone Dodd....
' album Eastwood Rides Again
Eastwood Rides Again
-Track listing:All tracks composed by Lee "Scratch" Perry; except where indicated#"Eastwood Rides Again"#"Hit Me"#"Knock On Wood" – The Untouchables#"Pop Corn"#"Catch This"#"You Are Adorable"#"Capsol"#"Power Pack"#"Dollar In The Teeth"...
. Perry was the only producer to get Bennett to perform vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, "Baby Baby" being one of these examples, the other being "Barbara".
External links
- Val Bennett discography at discogs.com
- Val Bennett discography at Roots Archives