The Inspector - Traditional Ska from San Diego (1999)

[GStamp]

The Inspector hailed from San Diego and performed locally and in the Los Angeles area in the late 1990s.

The traditional jamaican ska band went through a number of line-up changes over the years, in my opinion improving with each evolution, until the band recorded at Golden Track studio in 1999, just prior to their breakup. The session was magical.

The band set up in a fairly small room in a circle of sorts so they could see each other. The grand piano was in the other room, so Chris was the only one wearing headphones. The limited budget kept the band from recording all of their material and only six songs were put to tape; filled three 2" eight-track reels.

That Golden Track Session lineup included:

James Trent (Bass and Vocals): www.myspace.com/1552269

Paul Touchet (Drums): www.myspace.com/204023088

Chris Torres (Piano): www.myspace.com/4864790

Tom Lewandowski (Guitar): www.myspace.com/24187889

Matt Murdock (Trumpet)

Ed ??? (Trombone)

Jeff Roberts (Tenor Sax): www.myspace.com/76255873

Jacob Ruiz (Alto Sax): www.myspace.com/15683138

I posted four of the cuts from the Golden Track Session (1999) on my SFLB Records nostalgia page with permission from James Trent and Paul Touchet (basically the band's founding members). The following cuts were never released; in fact, they were mixed in 2000 - after the band had broken up. These cuts should be kept no longer from ska loving people around the world - check them out at www.myspace.com/sflbrecords :

Mr. Jobim by James Trent: Easily my favorite cut. Jeff's solo has so much soul. Chris...well...what can I say? Magic fingers on the keys with Paul and James laying it down in the background. I think the three of them were picturing Antonio Carlos grinnin broadly throughout. Then Ed steps up and blows down the house. His collection of licks half way through the middle of the solo makes me tear up each time I hear it.

Scrapple from the Apple by Charlie Parker: I love the song and the take, but cringe each time I hear Jeff's solo because I left it too low in the mix. If I could go back and change one thing, it would be that (with the tone of James' bass on all songs being a close second)

St. Thomas by Sonny Rollins: So much energy with this song. The band en fuego and having a blast. Paul pumping out the calypso beat. How does he do that!?!?! He didn't even own a drum set when he recorded this - borrowed mine.

Words of Wisdom by James Trent: Some of you might recognize this tune from the Hi-Lites album, Hi-Altitude. For this version, Jeff is providing the backing vocals and sounds great!

All of the instruments were recorded live; in my opinion, the only way to record ska. Only the vocals for Words of Wisdom were overdubbed. Sure, the takes are far from perfect. Flubs all over the place. But then again, the early Studio 1 Skatalites recordings were far from flawless. I'd trade a few flubs for the energy that can only be captured by the live ska performance anyday!

Be sure to have a listen and drop the musicians a line of encouragement. Oh, almost forgot to mention. I believe everyone in the band at the time of the recording was age 17 (Chris) to 22 (Ed)!

Be a peacemaker and Ska ska ska

[DudeAsInCool]

Thanx for the intro, GStamp - will check it out