Jazz Jamaica

Jazz Jamaica
Performing at the Summer Sundae festival, 2007
Background information
Origin	London, United Kingdom
Genres	Ska jazz, reggae
Years active	1991–present
Labels	Hannibal Dune
Associated acts	Soweto Kinch, Rico Rodriguez, Andy Sheppard, Jazz Warriors

Jazz Jamaica is a jazz/reggae music group formed by musician Gary Crosby in London.

In 1991, inspired by the rhythms of traditional Jamaican music and the largely improvisational nature of jazz, Gary Crosby - one of the original Jazz Warriors, jazz double bassist, and nephew of veteran Jamaican guitarist Ernest Ranglin - conceived a fusion of mento, ska, reggae and jazz styles in playing classic and modern jazz standards alongside Jamaican folksongs. To achieve this, he gathered together a group of musicians drawn from the jazz and reggae circuits, to form Jazz Jamaica.

Since its realisation, Crosby developed the Jazz Jamaica concept by introducing more young jazz musicians, so increasing the size of the pool of "Jazz Jamaicans", and enabling him to extend the boundaries of the music played. Crosby and his musicians are exponents of this musical fusion known as skazz, which has earned global appreciation.

In March 1999, Crosby expanded the core lineup of Jazz Jamaica to formal big-band status by adding a number of guest soloists including Denys Baptiste, Andy Sheppard, Soweto Kinch, Juliet Roberts, Orphy Robinson, Guy Barker, Kevin Robinson, Ashley Slater, Annie Whitehead, and Alex Wilson, resulting in the Jazz Jamaica All Stars, a 20-piece band featuring vocals, five saxophones, four trumpets, and four trombones with a rhythm section of double bass, piano, drums, guitar and percussion.