S/D: The Skatalites

i can't say where you should begin, but this is excellent:

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/3501/r3166711134592306zf6uw3.jpg

Foundation Ska

some overlap with the above: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41VYK6JDG4L._SL500_AA240_.jpg

*bump*

I mostly know them from comps and cruising the 'Tube, but been digging this one since it first came out:

Sho GoV
A tighter and jazzier album than the Skatalites' first '90s reunion effort, 1993's SKAVOOVEE, 1994's HI-BOP SKA is closer to the ska-jazz fusion of 1983's STRETCHING OUT than the concise, hyperactive singles that made the group a legend on the ultra-competitive Kingston music scene of the mid '60s. Opening with a completely reworked version of their '60s signature hit "Guns of Navarone," slowed down with a cinematic Ennio Morricone flavor, the regrouped Skatalites settle into a series of exciting grooves, alternately slinky and skanking, with the enthusiasm of musicians half their age and the grace that only comes with experience. Guests include hornmen Steve Turre, David Murray and Lester Bowie, whose unexpectedly avant-garde trumpet solos give the songs an angularity they might otherwise lack. This is particularly notable on the Bowie-composed "Ska Reggae Hi-Bop," an 8-minute workout that's among the band's most exciting pieces. The other key guest is vocalist Doreen Schaeffer, whose cooing delivery on "You're Wondering Now" is the highlight of the entire disc.

That’s why I revived this! I saw Steve Turre play two weeks ago and he had a new song he wrote about Don Drummond called “Don D.” I talked to him after the show and he told me that he had played on a few Skatalite albums.

Good stuff

Steve Turre such an über-hipster. He even talks like he is from New Orleans.