Rico Rodriguez
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the musician. For the fictional character named Rico Rodriguez see the Just Cause video game.
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (August 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
Rico Rodriguez, also known as Reco or El Reco (born Emmanuel Rodriguez, 17 October 1934, Kingston, Jamaica), is a ska and reggae trombonist. He has recorded with many producers, including Prince Buster and Lloyd 'Matador' Daley.
Rodriguez was taught to play the trombone by his slightly older schoolmate Don Drummond at the Alpha Boys School in Jamaica, which was run by nuns. In the 1950s, he became a Rasta and became closely musically related to rasta drummer, Count Ossie. In 1961, he moved to the UK and started to play in reggae bands in England. In 1976, he recorded the album, Man From Wareika under contract with Island Records . In the late 1970s, with the arrival of the 2 Tone genre, he played with ska revival bands such as The Specials. One of his most notable performances was on The Specials' song, "A Message to You, Rudy".
Since 1996, amongst other engagements, he has played with Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra & he also performs at various ska festivals throughout Euope with his own band.
He was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) at Buckingham Palace on 12 July 2007 "for services to music" (see: The Queens list for 2007, p. 83).
