​I can't tell the story of Don Drummond...

So many stories have already been told, and i'm always searching for more.

Most of the stories seems to have so many different perspectives of the great Don Drummond...

This man is still a mystery...

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I want to tell about his music - the music I love and listen to all the time.

I'm so fascinated by the soul in the music, the sound he produce , and of course the technical skills he had.

Don is absolutely the best trombonist I have ever heard,

he have a sound that makes the music something you feel.

He is so clean , even in his signature moves , the machinegun fast lines.

He play the trombone in a unique style , and play it so smooth.

Most musicians play their improvisations by scales.

Don tells stories...

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In time i will put my words in Don Drummond's discography .

i have a heading for all of them , and all the productions tell me something , or expressing something .

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The fact that he played the trombone as the front instrument really caught my attention.

The more I listen, the more I love it, and my advice to everybody is ...

try to listen, try to really listen.

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It's hard for the new generations to discover the authenticity of this great musician and music , because of the low quality of the old 60s recordings from Jamaica .

The english and americans recordings from that time ,

is somewhat better .

their studios had way better studio gear.

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 I'm actually kind of impressed by (most of) the recordings they did in in that time , in Jamaica...

When i think about the history of the island , the island that just got independent from british rule , slavery , poverty , and a paradise for the rich people ...

And the people who lived in that poor area ,

where all this took place..

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But this is real music , not much of that kind of music today ..

These musicians start playing , when the recording lamp is on , not track by track or instrument by instrument ..

they play it all from start to the end , no editing , no retakes..  They play real music together !

And when they play their solos ... they improvise ..

And that is what gives real music , they express their feelings thru the instrument ... 

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Don was a learned musician who did his music by the paper.

He graduated from the Alpha Boys School with a very high level in music.

A passionate musician on his own in a time of change ,

the radio stations were now playing new american music. 

Jamaican musicians tried to imitate the american popular music. But they ended up doing it in their own way and invented their own style of music, they called it "ska."

Don's inspiration came from the american jazz, rhythm and blues, and the Latin music from the south, which was already popular in the Caribbean.

He admired the American trombonist JJ Johnson.

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Don had ambitions; he wanted to be the best.

A story tells that he was reading a magazine about some of the american jazz musicians and said, "I'm good like many of these guys, and better than some."

Some of his productions are in jazz style, probably some of the early recordings.

Some of them have a kind of African style , Don did join the Rastafarians in the hills for a late-night jam session.

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There is a kind of timeline in his music, from the jazz and blues tunes to some of the later tough, deep ska beats.

He started recording , in 1958 or 1959 , but he was of the scene several times , when he went to the mental hospital.

Clement Dodd tells about one of his hospitalizations , he was in there for almost a year.

He got jailed in january 1965 , so he only recorded for 4-5 years .

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I believe Don developed the Jamaican ska in those days.

His music is kind of simple, but it is a part of what it is.

A lot of his compositions are built by a melodic bassline , and only a few chords , some of them with only one chord.

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Stories tell that he never named his compositions; the producers did.

Fellow musicians said that he sometimes came up with several compositions a day.

He was very productive and has an impressive number of recordings in the few years he was playing.

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It brings me great sadness to realize that a significant number of studio recordings may never see the light of day.

However, I hold onto hope that lost recordings may one day be discovered, and that we may have the opportunity to experience the beauty of these lost musical gems.

Specifically, I dream of a day when a video recording of Don Drummond, a legendary figure in the world of music , will be uncovered and made available for all to enjoy.

 

I made my discography just by listening, and when Don Drummond appears on a song as part of the backing band, there is often no doubt; you can hear him.