Reggae bass legend Jackie Jackson has died
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Veteran Jamaican bass guitarist Clifton 'Jackie' Jackson, whose distinctive playing helped provide the heartbeat for some of the most enduring recordings in Jamaican popular music, died this morning after a lengthy hospitalisation.
He was 79.
Jackson, who was married to celebrated Jamaican songstress Karen Smith, was admitted to the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, St James, for close to two months.
He leaves behind four daughters.
His passing closes another chapter in Jamaica's extraordinary pioneering generation of musicians, men who worked largely outside the glare of the spotlight but whose musicianship helped turn ska, rocksteady and reggae into music heard around the world.
For more than half a century, Jackson's bass was synonymous with Toots and the Maytals, but his musical fingerprints extended far beyond the legendary group.
He played on recordings by some of Jamaica's biggest names, including Bob Marley and the Wailers, Alton Ellis, Ken Boothe, The Melodians and Desmond Dekker, while his international recording credits included American singer-songwriter Paul Simon.
janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com
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