While in Ja da Ska was it:Nerlin Taitt has passed away in Toronto,Canada.

[davyjenny1]

He passed on Thursday. The man Revolutionize the ska among others and from there reggae was born.Well.. look  trouble on her but it's true doh! His brother Cedric and i have been friends for over 20 years now..

[Peong]

Legend

[Trini _2026]

Nerlad or Lynn Taitt RIP

[davyjenny1]

From: Wack Radio


Unsung hero passes

Nerlin 'Lynn' Taitt, born Jun 22, 1934 in San Fernando and died January 20, 2010 at the age of 75 in Montreal, Canada.  Pictured above at age 70 in Nov 2005. Lynn, as he was called by those he knew him, had a life long career in music.  From his early days with steelpan in Trinidad to his work in Jamaica before migrating to Canada, Lynn did what he loved until the end. Lynn's arranging skills and natural talent had an impact on Ska, which lead to the Rock steady beat; out of which Reggae was born.  His first influence on Jamaican music came when he arranged for Hopeton Lewis.  Although in talking with Lynn, he never expected recognition for doing what he loved.  Ironically, most of his recognition came through documentation from a Canadian, Jim Dooley.  WACK is the only radio station in Trinidad that had the opportunity to interview Mr. Taiit recently. You can listen to that interview, a mini bio of Mr. Taitt, on our podcast.  The Management and Staff of WACK 90.1 extend our deepest condolences to the Taitt family.
Lynn went to Jamaica with his band in August 1963 to play for an event honouring Jamaica's first independence.  After not being paid for that event by the band's manager, Lynn and his band decided to stay in Jamaica, where he linked up with Byron Lee who helped them with lodging and additional work for the band.  Lynn Taitt and the Jets was very popular as rock steady became more known. Lynn played with and toured the UK, Japan and Canada with the Skatalites. On one such trip to Toronto in 1968, where they were invited to play for the first West Indian festival in Toronto, Lynn decided to stay in Canada. After a few years with the band moving around the country, Lynn settled in Montreal where he lived until his death.  Lyn has arranged for numerous artists in the Calypso fraternity in Canada.  Twice he was invited to play for the Montreal Jazz Festival.  Lynn was an accomplished arranger, pannist, and guitarist who wrote his own music.  He also played the piano/keyboard.  Though Lynn had few recordings, his work will live on in the hundreds if not thousands of songs he arranged for artists in Jamaica and Canada.

 

Lynn is pictured below in his home studio in Montreal in 2005 at age 70.  Photos, courtesy of Jim Dooley.  Initial research for the interview was done by Marlene Simon of WACK, with assistance from Jim Dooley to whom I forever grateful.

 
Last Updated ( Saturday, 23 January 2010 02:06 )
 

[Tallman]

Lynn Taitt -- The musician's musician -- dies in Canada
By Basil Walters (Jamaica Observer)

Friday, January 22, 2010

LEGENDARY Jamaican guitarist/band leader Lynn Taitt has died.

The 70-odd year-old rocksteady pioneer died Wednesday in Toronto, Canada where he had been ailing for sometime.

Born Nerlynn Taitt in San Fernando, Trinidad, this musical gift is being hailed as a musician's musician as well as a major contributor to the internationalisation of reggae, particularly in Canada.

"Lynn Taitt was a musician's musician," prominent music selector/historian Winston Blake told Splash. "He had a persona that made it comfortable for everybody who came in his presence to work along with him," the founder/operator of the famous Merritone sound system added.

"He played a role in Bob Marley's career, and touched the lives of countless reggae greats," was how well-known musicologist Roger Steffens remembered Lynn Taitt. "He will be remembered by historians as one of the major contributors to the internationalisation of reggae, particularly for his work in spreading the music in Canada," the reggae historian added.

Taitt began playing the guitar at the age of 14. He came to Jamaica in the early 1960s and was booked by the late Byron Lee to perform on the 1962 Independence celebrations. While here, he played in a number of bands, including The Sheiks, The Cavaliers, The Skatalites, Baba Brooks and Tommy McCook and the Supersonics.

He later started the first of two outfits, and -- according to Winston Blake -- Lynn Taitt and The Comets was one of the best dance bands Jamaica had. He went on to form The Jets in 1966, which included such stalwarts as Hux Brown, Headley Bennett, Hopeton Lewis, Gladstone Anderson and Winston Wright, which was his most successful aggregation.

The musical virtuoso was highly rated for his inventive and unconventional guitar styling. He has been widely credited as having crafted the first rocksteady bassline on the song Take It Easy by vocalist Hopeton Lewis.

"He came at a time when Jamaican music needed all the brilliant players that it could get to really give it the start that it got," Winston Blake reminisced, adding that Taitt did most of his work with Federal Recording Company.

"He offered such a splendid alternative to the virtuosity that Ernie Ranglin displayed during the ska era," was the view of another noted musicologist Herbie Miller.

"As a Trinidadian who made Jamaica his home he totally assimilated our music with his own musical culture... another great contributor to our music has departed," Miller further said.

Also sharing his memories of Taitt, broadcaster Bunny Goodison said: "Everybody who took part in the rocksteady (genre) said that he (Taitt) was the baddest."

The last major musical project that Lynn Taitt was involved with was a documentary on rocksteady music. His departure followed that of another important contributor, Yabby You, who died on Wednesday last week.