POP MUSIC REVIEW : Jimmy Cliff, Reggae Standard-Bearer

With the deaths of Bob Marley and, this year, Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff is now the most recognizable and charismatic figure in reggae. When the curtain rose Sunday night at the Wiltern Theatre, it was to the sight of Cliff, seated on the floor with a set of bongo drums, a coat draped across his thin shoulders as he sang an African-tinged message song about the pursuit of freedom.

Although the Jamaican-born artist reminded the near-capacity crowd that “I’m a musician, not a politician,” most of the songs he performed were of a sociopolitical, raise-your-consciousness nature and he sang them in an easy, engaging manner. If the mantle of reggae leadership must be passed on to anyone, Cliff is the likeliest to assume it.

Backed by an eight-piece band that often approached the funky precision timing of James Brown’s Famous Flames, Cliff embellished most of his songs with herky-jerky twists and long slides across the floor.

Decrying politicians willing to spend “more money on arms than farms and more money on outer space than the human race,” the wiry singer touched on the value of humanity throughout a well-paced set.

Cliff (who played a second Wiltern show on Monday) has an appeal that should take him beyond the core audience of reggae enthusiasts he now attracts--but that’s been the case a long time now, and even his co-starring role last year with Robin Williams in the comedy “Club Paradise” hasn’t changed that situation.

Opening act David Lindley was on stage only briefly, but he and his four-piece band did manage to stir things up with a blistering, reggae-fied polka version of “Twist and Shout.” Typical of the veteran multi-instrumentalist, it was an odd concept that worked.