THE FATHERS OF SKA

Band: The Skatalites.

Personnel: The 11-man lineup will include charter members Johnnie Moore (trumpet), Lester Sterling (alto sax), Roland Alphonso and Tommy McCook (tenor sax), Rico Rodriguez (trombone), Lloyd Knibbs (bass) and Lloyd Brevett (drums).

History: It’s difficult to overestimate the influential role the Skatalites played in developing Jamaican music. The group was formed early in 1963 by several of the island’s hottest young musicians led by the late trombonist Don Drummond. They were jazzmen at heart drawn to the classic hard-bop sound associated with America’s Blue Note label. Economics intervened and, like the Motown session team, the Skatalites toned down their jazz instincts and became the studio band for pioneering Jamaican producers like Coxsone Dodd. They backed vocal groups like the Wailers, Toots & the Maytals and the Heptones on the primitive, one- and two-track recordings that established ska’s popularity with the Jamaican public.

The group racked up several instrumental hits in Jamaica and “The Guns of Navarone” became a Top 40 British hit in 1967. The Skatalites disbanded later that year, although most of the members continued working as session musicians in Jamaica and England for many years. Studio One has re-issued both the group’s original albums and three excellent solo albums by the legendary Drummond.

Sound: The Skatalites invented ska, so fans of English ska groups like Madness and the English Beat know what to expect in the rhythm section--uptempo shuffles drawn from early American R&B; and the skanking guitar sound that gave the style its name. The big difference will probably lie in the jazzy dimension.

Show: The Music Machine, tonight.