Rico Rodriguez (musician)

Rico Rodriguez
Rodriguez at GuilFest 2012
Background information
Birth name	Emmanuel Rodriguez
Also known as	Reco, El Reco
Born	(1934-10-17)17 October 1934 Havana, Cuba
Origin	Kingston, Jamaica
Died	4 September 2015(2015-09-04) (aged 80) London, England
Genres	Ska, reggae, jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Trombone
Years active	1958–2015
Associated acts	The Specials Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra

Emmanuel "Rico" Rodriguez MBE (17 October 1934 – 4 September 2015), also known as simply Rico, Reco or El Reco, was a Cuban-born Jamaican ska and reggae trombonist. He recorded with many producers, including Karl Pitterson, Prince Buster, and Lloyd "Matador" Daley. He was known as one of the first and most distinguished ska artists, and from the early 1960s performed and recorded in Britain, with the Specials, Jools Holland, Paul Young, and others.

Rodriguez was born in Havana, Cuba, and at an early age moved with his family to Jamaica. He grew up there in Kingston, and was taught to play the trombone by his slightly older schoolmate Don Drummond at the Alpha Boys School. In the 1950s, Rodriguez became a Rastafarian and was closely associated musically to the rasta drummer Count Ossie. In 1961 Rodriguez moved to the UK and started to play in reggae bands. In 1976 he recorded the album Man from Wareika under a 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 including their single "A Message to You, Rudy".

Rodriguez formed the group Rico and the Rudies and recorded the albums Blow Your Horn and Brixton Cat. In 1995 Island Records released the album Roots to the Bone, an updated version of Rodriguez's earlier work Man from Wareika. From 1996, among other engagements, he played with Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra and also performed at various ska festivals throughout Europe with his own band. He retired from performing with Jools Holland in 2012.