Ska is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walking bass line accented with rhythms on the off beat. It was developed in Jamaica in the 1960s when Stranger Cole, Prince Buster, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, and Duke Reid formed sound systems to play American rhythm and blues and then began recording their own songs. In the early 1960s, ska was the dominant music genre of Jamaica and was popular with British mods and with many skinheads.
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish reggae, including harmony groups such as the Techniques, the Paragons, the Heptones and the Gaylads; soulful singers such as Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, Bob Andy, Ken Boothe and Phyllis Dillon; musicians such as Jackie Mittoo, Lynn Taitt and Tommy McCook. The term rocksteady comes from a popular (slower) dance style mentioned in the Alton Ellis song "Rocksteady", that matched the new sound. Some rocksteady songs became hits outside Jamaica, as with ska, helping to secure the international base reggae music has today.
Lester "Ska" Sterling OD, also known as Mr. Versatile, was a Jamaican trumpet and saxophone player.
Stubborn All-Stars are an American, New York City-based ska band led by King Django, front man of Skinnerbox and owner of Stubborn Records.
Vin Gordon is a Jamaican trombone player.
Dr. Ring Ding is a German reggae, ska and dancehall artist.
Pressure Cooker is a nine piece reggae/ska/rocksteady band from Boston. The group writes, records, and performs original songs in the styles of 1960s and 1970s Jamaican music. The group formed in 1997.
Ska jazz is a music genre derived by fusing the melodic content of jazz with the rhythmic and harmonic content of early Jamaican Music introduced by the "Fathers of Ska" in the late 1950s. The ska-jazz movement began during the 1990s in New York and London, where pioneering avant-garde jazz and reggae musicians pushed the boundaries of reggae music. They were combining traditions with modern tendencies, using the reggae beat along with high improvisation and jazz harmonies, primarily by horns and percussion.
Deal's Gone Bad is a band from Chicago, Illinois. Their sound mixes reggae, rocksteady, and ska music with American soul. They have been together since 1994, with numerous lineup changes over the years. The current incarnation has been mostly stable since 2003. The band hews to a more traditional ska-reggae sound while many others working in the genre morphed into a more punk variety.
The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including "Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many other Jamaican artists who recorded during that period, including Bob Marley & The Wailers, on their first single "Simmer Down." They reformed in 1983 and have played together ever since.
Joseph Abraham Gordon, better known as Lord Tanamo, was a Jamaican-Canadian singer and songwriter best known for his mento and ska work.
Cedric "Im" Brooks was a Jamaican saxophonist and flautist known for his solo recordings and as a member of The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, The Sound Dimensions, Divine Light, The Light of Saba, and The Skatalites.
The Rocksteady 7 or "David Hillyard & the Rocksteady Seven",are an American Ska and Jazz band from New York, New York that formed in 1992. Since the early 1990s the group has consisted of tenor saxophonist and band leader Dave Hillyard as well as percussionist Larry McDonald. In live performances, they are supported by a rotating cast of musicians, including drummer Eddie Ocampo and Dave Wake on keys among others.
Oswald "Baba" Brooks 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.
Karamelo Santo is a Latin rock band from Mendoza, Argentina. Formed in 1992 for Goy Karamelo, they released their first album, La Kulebra in 1995. Since then, they have released nine more albums. The single "Que No Digan Nunca" is probably their best-known song. It was used on the soundtrack for the movie Caño Dorado.
Jerome "Jah Jerry" Haynes OD was a Jamaican guitarist and former member of The Skatalites.
Ska Cubano is a London-based group which combines ska and Cuban music such as son and mambo, with elements of other genres including cumbia and calypso.
Clue J & His Blues Blasters were a Jamaican band of the late 1950s and early 1960s led by Cluett Johnson, who were one of the first bands to play ska. Several of the band's members went on to join The Skatalites.
São Paulo Ska Jazz is a Brazilian ska-jazz band formed by musicians of the pop and jazz scene in São Paulo. It was created between the years of 2007 and 2008 by Marcelo Calderazzo.
The Upbeat is a band formed in 1985 in the small beach-side community of Carpinteria, California. Heavily influenced by the 2 Tone Ska of the late 70s and early 80s, the group was formed by Alfredo “Fredo” Peralta, Mike "Oreo" Organista, Eric "Scaric" Vallen, Brandon "Hossinn" Seider, Grant "Saxpa" Cox (saxophone), Mike "Pussard" Honeyman (trumpet), Chaska "The Weasel" Slawson (drums), and Mark "Sparky" Gonzales. 2011 saw the introduction of new members, ska/reggae/rocksteady legends Zac Pike and Dan Boer (keys), from the bands Sandollar Sounds and Dynamic Pressure, as well as Brian "Polar Bear" LeBlanc (drums), from Santa Barbara's Civil Unrest and Makai. Their members Dan Boer and Zac Pike created music for Cartoon Network's Chowder.
Athens, Greece 