Japanese journalist brings Rico Rodriguez tribute to Korea
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Rico Rodriguez
By Jon Dunbar
Legendary ska/reggae musician Rico Rodriguez died on Sept. 4, 2015, but his musical legacy lives on.
Music photojournalist Koichi Hanafusa brings his photo exhibition “Wonderful World of Rico Rodriguez” to Gold Star, a pub near Hongik University, western Seoul, from Wednesday till Friday. Kingston Rudieska and NST & the Soul Sauce perform there Wednesday night.
Rodriguez played trombone for dozens of reggae and ska musicians, including Jamaican greats like Prince Buster and groundbreaking U.K. ska group the Specials. His “Man from Wareika” (1976) is the only roots reggae album to be released on U.S. jazz label Blue Note. And he’s big in Japan.
“Listening to his trombone compared to other Jamaican artists, it’s more jazz,” Hanafusa told The Korea Times. “He should be compared to jazz figures like John Coltrane, though maybe not that big.”
Hanafusa met Rodriguez when he toured Japan with U.K. ska band Bad Manners in the early 1990s. They first spoke while Japanese band Ska Flames warmed up the crowd.
“I saw Rico standing on the edge of the stage leaning on the wall and smiling,” Hanafusa recalled. “I said ‘What’s up man?’ Rico replied, “Me close me eyes man sounds like Skatalites.”
“I said ‘Do you wanna play with them?’ He said ‘Ya man.’ I tried sending a signal to the guys on stage but Rico started onto the stage and just started playing.”
After, Rodriguez sang the jazz classic “What a Wonderful World” in karaoke. Hanafusa begged him to record it, leading to the 1995 album “Wonderful World.”
“That was his turning point as a musician,” said Hanafusa. “Up to that point he wasn’t regarded as a vocalist at all.”
Hanafusa visited the 80-year-old Rodriguez in London last year, inviting him to Japan to attend a concert in his honor, but two months later his death was announced.
“I was feeling some kind of guilt,” he said. “Straight away I didn’t want to do anything because when someone dies you have to mourn.”
After three months, Hanafusa organized his photo exhibition to share his memories.
Then, he discovered Korean reggae band NST & the Soul Sauce had released “Song for Rico,” their own tribute on cassette. “I thought what the hell is that ― Rico has never been to Korea!” he said.
After meeting at this year’s Fuji Rock Fest, they agreed to bring his exhibition to Korea.
“If we open a wider audience for this kind of music it would be really good,” he said. “A lot of people take ska as a simple dance music but it’s not that at all. It’s got depth, history ― so many undiscovered treasures there.”
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