Roland Alphonso

Saxophonist Roland Alphonso stood among the central architects of early ska and reggae through multiple channels: his solo and bandleading releases, his contributions inside the Skatalites, his extensive session work across 1960s Jamaican productions, and his arranging duties at Studio One. Though grounded in the jazz he performed during his teenage and young-adult years, he shifted into the developing Jamaican popular style with such fluency that he emerged as one of its key originators. Regarded as one of the music’s most skilled instrumentalists, he delivered a tone comparable to leading American jazz and R&B players, in contrast to the frequently imprecise or thin horn sounds found on many ska and rock steady sides of the period. His range supported an expansive catalog of material, encompassing brisk ska novelties, ballads that highlighted his jazz improvisation abilities, and pieces rooted in R&B and soul.

Born in Cuba in 1931 to a Jamaican mother and Cuban father, Alphonso relocated to Jamaica with his mother at age two. In the late 1940s he turned professional on tenor and alto sax within jazz ensembles, drawing influence from Illinois Jacquet. By the early 1950s he was already working as a session musician, appearing on calypso recordings by artists such as Young Kitchener. In 1956 he cut his initial sides for producer Coxsone Dodd; although those masters were lost en route to New York for processing, he quickly became a regular presence on Dodd’s dates at Federal Records studio. From the late 1950s onward he issued numerous recordings under his own name for Dodd and for other producers including Duke Reid.

During the early 1960s Alphonso helped shape the ska style on instrumentals that fused American R&B and boogie elements with Jamaica’s tight, rapid rhythmic patterns. He became integral to operations at Dodd’s Studio One, performing on alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones as well as flute, while also serving as arranger and assisting developing acts such as Bob Marley & the Wailers. Near the close of 1963 he joined several leading Jamaican players to establish the Skatalites, the premier ska instrumental group that additionally supplied studio support for key vocalists including the Wailers.

Following the Skatalites’ dissolution in August 1965, Alphonso continued performing and recording with the newly formed Soul Brothers, who evolved into the Soul Vendors by 1967. Throughout this period he maintained a steady output both within those ensembles and under his own name. His performances and the accompanying arrangements adapted to shifting tastes, evident on “Do It Good” (cut in 1966 yet unreleased until 2000), whose funky horn figures recalled contemporary James Brown recordings.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s Alphonso directed the Ruinaires, house band at the Ruins restaurant and nightclub. The engagement ended in the early 1970s after he experienced a stroke at age 41. Recovery followed rapidly; he relocated to the United States at the end of 1972 and soon resumed live work and studio activity. By the late 1970s and early 1980s he appeared frequently on the New York-area circuit with Jah Malla and performed regularly at Brooklyn’s Apache restaurant. The Skatalites reunited for the first time in 1983; during the 1980s and 1990s the group toured internationally and recorded, earning wider global recognition than during their mid-1960s peak. Alphonso also released the solo album Roll On in the 1980s. While performing with the Skatalites in Hollywood in November 1998 he suffered a burst blood vessel in his head and died several weeks later after a second such event.