Celebrating the music of Bob Marley

Reggae superstar Bob Marley has been dead for 20 years but his music lives on and it is just amazing how much has been done with his out during the 15 years that he was active in the business. These have been compiled, reissued, sampled and covered so many times over that it sometimes seems that Marley is still very much around and set to release another new album soon.

He seldom fails the market as more of his old recordings continue to surface in assorted disguises. What is amazing about all these is that no matter what the period, no matter what the prevailing music trend, Marley’s rasta renderings never seem outdated or out of tune with the times. It scintillates sensually in a niche all its own, completely oblivious to other forces.

The music world commemorated Marley’s death from cancer last May 11 and along with this event came the release of two new albums that celebrate Marley’s genius. These are the new compilation One Love: The Very Best of Bob Marley & the Wailers and the all-star tribute A Twist of Marley.

One Love: The Very Best of Bob Marley & The Wailers is the real thing. These are indeed Marley’s best works with the Wailers from the ’70s and the early ’80s. Marley fans, who want to introduce their friends to the incredible music of this man should let them listen to this album. The legendary magic is all here and more because these recordings have been remastered and digitalized to perfection. The music here just flows divinely from one cut to the other and makes one realize what a wonderful gift Marley left behind. I fault modern technology for the proliferation of music piracy but it is also because of modern technology that we continue to enjoy old recordings today and I am very thankful, if only because of Bob Marley.

Included in One Love, are Stir It Up, Get Up, Stand Up, I Shot the Sheriff, Lively Up Yourself, No Woman No Cry, Roots, Rock, Reggae, Exodus, Jamming, Waiting in Vain, Three Little Birds, Turn Your Lights Down Low, One Love/People Get Ready, Is This Love, Sun is Shining, So Much Trouble in The World, Could You Be Loved, Redemption Song, Buffalo Soldier, Iron Lion Zion and I Know a Place.

Also released recently was A Twist of Marley’s a homage to the reggae legend produced by one of the biggest names in contemporary music Lee Ritenour. It features 12 of Marley’s most popular works given a jazzy, R & B spin with new arrangements and performed by some of the best singers and instrumentalists today. These new takes can be as diverse as the funky styling of Ritenour on guitar, Dave Grusin on the piano and Rick Braun on the trumpet or the exotic crooning of Redemption Song by Richard Bona in his native Duala language. But no matter how they do it, this is one more proof of how timeless and enduring Marley’s music has become. And to think they all thought he was just doing ska.

Look out for performances by vocalists Patti Austin, Lisa Fischer, Maxi Priest, Will Downing, Richard Bona, Phil Perry plus Marc Antoine on guitar, Michael Brecker on tenor sax, Gerald Albright on alto sax, Steve Tavaglione on soprano sax, Jochem van der Saag on keyboards, Sonny Emory on drums, Melvin Davis on bass, Cassio Duarte on percussion, Larry Williams on additional synths, Jerry Hey on trumpet and flugelhorn, Dan Higgins on flute, Will Kennedy on drums, Bill Reinshenbach on trombone. Best of the lot of No Woman No Cry beautifully and oh so expressively done by Jonathan Butler.

Marley was a unique blend of rastafarian peacemaker, human rights activist and music genius. He took reggae to the hit charts of the world. From the time his album Catch a Fire became a hit in 1973, Marley, a little known Jamaican artist wielded an unusually strong influence on the music of the likes of Eric Clapton, the Police, Paul Simon and others. He continues to do the same today. Ask Shaggy. And thanks to him reggae remains up there, a delightful piece of music by itself or garnished with various dressings from jazz to funk to hip hop, etc. etc.

Marley had 11 children, four of them, Sharon, Cedella, Ziggy and Stephen have joined the music business. Stephen is married to R&B star and Grammy winner Lauryn Hill.