Jackie Mittoo - Soul Jazz Records presents JACKIE MITTOO: Reggae Magic (2025) [Hi-Res]

Mittoo? Me too! Jackie Mittoo's Reggae Magic (Soul Jazz) assembles essential lathings and rare grooves from 1967 to 1974, a period when his keyboard work shaped reggae's core sound. After leaving seminal Jamaican ska outfit The Skatalites, Mittoo was de facto CCO at Studio One, driving its signature organ-led style that mounted Kingston's rhythms to earlier, more readily identifiable grooves from the popular sphere, such as the post-bossa flurries of Booker T And The MGs and the knee-slapping soul movements of Stax. The tunes you hear here - 'Hot Milk', 'One Step Beyond' and 'Real Rock' - were reused as riddims over a span of decades, reaching artists from Alton Ellis to The Clash, Lily Allen to Rihanna. Further rarities like 'Ghetto Organ' and 'Soul Stew' also appear, presenting a snapshot of Mittoo's can't-go-back impact on Jamaican music.