2. Ernest Ranglin
It’s difficult to overstate Ernest Ranglin’s importance to Jamaican music. Reggae’s most influential guitarist, he began his musical career with the island’s swing-era big bands, playing mento, calypso, and jazz. His virtuosic playing and fluid arrangements brought him gigs of all stripes—the Dr. No soundtrack, Island Records’ first release, and an abundance of session work at studios like Federal and Studio One (including one of the Wailers’ early hits, “It Hurts to Be Alone”). Ranglin is widely credited with adding the shuffle that turned New Orleans R&B into ska, the basis for all Jamaican pop music to follow—and he also produced the genre’s first international hit.
Somehow, he found time to record numerous jazz albums drawing on the melodic sound of his primary influences, Charlie Christian and Les Paul. Like his friend and colleague Monty Alexander, Ranglin continued to perform and tour with reggae artists like Jimmy Cliff while releasing more traditional jazz records, often with Alexander by his side. At 82 (!) he’s still touring and performing around the world—here he is participating in NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series, and below, watch a peak Jamaican jam session with Ranglin, Alexander, and Sly & Robbie.