Man From Wareika

Man from Wareika was the first album recording for Rico Rodriguez led by his own artistic imagination, and his first recording created for album release. It is notable for being the only roots reggae album to be released on Blue Note Records. After recording one track ('Africa') in London with engineer Dick Cuthell as a demo for label owner Chris Blackwell, Rodriguez was offered a contract to record this album. A critic wrote in 1977 that the album "does not just reflect the current popular trends, but ... expresses in a definitive way the Jamaican music tradition". The nine self-composed tracks on the album offer Jamaican rhythms with horn lines between a melodic use and jazz; the latter helped to define something like a new genre, Jamaican jazz, transforming the experience from early ska days into 1970s roots reggae.