Surfin
Septuagenarian Jamaican guitarist Ranglin has seen and done it all. A long-time big band player, he is also widely credited with having invented ska, an infectious shuffling rhythm that presaged rock-steady, reggae, ragga and practically everything that has emerged from Jamaica since. A master of smoothly melodic  instrumental music, he is comfortable with large or small combos and is equally gracious whether he is acting as as a lead player or sideman. His long study of American jazz has informed his arrangements with an urban sophistication as redolent of New York City's Harlem or 52nd Street as downtown Kingston. But his sound also encompasses an endearing squareness, a mainstream 60s soundtrack vibe that narrowly misses becoming a more evolved species of elevator music. The album recalls festive Island holidays of yore, when pastel-clad tourists enjoyed long rum drinks and a water view while dancing all night to the world's best hotel band. With Bo Pee on rhythm guitar and Robbie Lyn on keyboards. --Christina Roden