In 1994, Django assembled Stubborn All-Stars for a studio session which resulted in the four-song Old's Cool 7" EP. Choosing musicians carefully from the large pool of New York ska bands such as Skinnerbox, The Insteps, The Slackers, The Scofflaws, and Agent 99, for their familiarity with and ability to play traditional Jamaican ska. Django hit upon the sound he was looking for: ska in a very traditional Jamaican style, reconnected with its own roots in AmericanRhythm & Blues.
Their second album, Back With a New Batch, was released in 1997. The video for the single Pick Yourself Up went into heavy rotation on MTV, and Alternative Press reviewed it as "the best reggae album of 1997".
Their third album, Nex Music, was released in 1999.
The Toasters are one of the original American third wave of ska bands. Founded in New York City in 1981, the band has released nine studio albums, primarily through Moon Ska Records.
The Slackers are an American ska band, formed in Manhattan, New York in 1991. The band's sound is a mix of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, soul, garage rock, and jazz. The Slackers' notability is credited to their prolific career, tours of North and South America, Europe, and elsewhere, and signing to notable punk label Hellcat Records.
King Django is an American bandleader, singer, songwriter, arranger, engineer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, especially in the genres of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, dancehall, rhythm & blues and soul. Other influences in his music have included traditional jazz, swing, klezmer, hardcore/punk rock, hip-hop and electronica.
Victor "Vic" Ruggiero, is a musician, songwriter and producer from New York City who has played in reggae, blues, ska and rocksteady bands since the early 1990s, including The Slackers, Stubborn All-Stars, SKAndalous All Stars, Crazy Baldhead and The Silencers. He has also performed with punk rock band Rancid, both live and in the studio. He has released four solo acoustic albums and continues to tour and record worldwide. Ruggiero is known primarily as a singer and organist, although he also plays piano, bass, banjo, cigar box guitar, guitar, harmonica and percussion.
Peculiar is an album by the New York City ska band The Slackers. It was released on Hellcat Records in 2006.
Dave Hillyard is a tenor saxophonist originating from San Diego, California. He has performed in groups such as The Slackers, The Rocksteady Seven, The Donkey Show, Hepcat, Stubborn All-Stars, and has guested with the likes of Rancid, Victor Rice, Skinnerbox NYC and Alexandra Lawerentz. He is a skilled improviser and composer/arranger with more than thirty album credits to his name.
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.
Eddie Ocampo is a drummer of the Third Wave Ska movement. He performed in several bands, such as The Insteps, Stubborn All-Stars, Dave Hillyard Rocksteady 7, the Jammyland All Stars, the Fandanglers, and many more Ska and Version City related bands. Ocampo has also designed album art for artists such as The Slackers.
Loose Tubes were a British jazz big band/orchestra active during the mid-to-late 1980s. Critically and popularly acclaimed, the band was considered to be the focal point of a 1980s renaissance in British jazz. It was the main launchpad for the careers of many future leading British jazz players including Django Bates, Iain Ballamy, Eddie Parker, Julian and Steve Argüelles, Mark Lockheart, Steve Berry, Tim Whitehead, Ashley Slater. In 2015, the band reformed to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band's formation, with concerts at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Brecon Jazz Festival and a sold out week at Ronnie Scott's.
Jayson Nugent is a guitarist and DJ from New York who plays in the style of several Jamaican music genres.
The Players Band is an American 10-piece ska band formed in Baltimore in 1999. The band's musical style combines Jamaican ska, rock, and reggae, and is characterized by the use of upbeat horns and percussion. The band has performed over 500 live shows in various states, including; Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington, DC, New York, Delaware, New Jersey, Long Island, Vermont, and Virginia. The Players Band has performed with acts such as Grammy Award Winner The Isley Brothers, Grammy Award Winner Toots & the Maytals, The B-52's, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Joe Strummer, Matisyahu, The English Beat, Third Eye Blind, Citizen Cope, Fishbone, The Toasters, The Skatalites, Reel Big Fish, The Pietasters, The Aggrolites, The Slackers, Rebirth Brass Band, Big D and the Kids Table, The Know How, King Django, The Scofflaws, Westbound Train, Eastern Standard Time, Junkyard Band and many others. Notable ska musicians who have performed on stage with The Players Band as guests include; Adam Birch, Jeff Richey, Buford O’Sullivan, Vinny Noble, Dr. Ring-Ding, Morgan Russell and H.R..
The Rocksteady 7 also known as 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.
Crazy Baldhead is a side project of The Slackers headed by Jayson "Agent Jay" Nugent. Crazy Baldhead plays an innovative style of music that mixed reggae, ska, dub, rock and dancehall. Members of the band include Eddie Ocampo, Victor Rice, Vic Ruggiero, Dave Hillyard and Glen Pine.
Self Medication is an album by the New York City ska band The Slackers. It was released on Indication Records in 2008.
The Spatial AKA Orchestra is a music ensemble led by Jerry Dammers of the Specials, an English 2 tone ska band popular in the late 1970s. Dammers formed the orchestra in 2006 as a tribute to American jazz musician Sun Ra, though it grew to include other genres such as reggae, funk, and classical music.
The Victoria Ska and Reggae Festival aka "Ska Fest" is a music festival that takes place every summer in Victoria British Columbia, Canada. The festival is organized and executed by the Victoria BC Ska Society, a non-profit organization, and over 200 volunteers. It is the longest running ska festival in North America. Despite its name, it has also featured artists from a broad spectrum of genres including punk rock, hip-hop, soul music, calypso music, jazz, and more.
Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra are a Hungarian ska band formed in Budapest, in 2003. The band's musical style has fused Jamaican-style ska and reggae with jazz melodies and elements of traditional Hungarian folk music.
The Great Rocksteady Swindle is the twelfth studio album from New York City ska band The Slackers. It was released on April 20, 2010, on Hellcat Records.
The Orobians are a ska band founded during 1997 in Bergamo, Italy and still based in Bergamo. They play ska and rocksteady standards with a modern jazz twist.
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