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Real love, it’s believed, can reach beyond
the here-and-now. So it’s also highly believable that without real love – and
good-willed curiosity? – there might never have been a band like Jing &
Jangsters, a Finnish group whole-heartedly devoted to Jamaican music. Founded in Tampere
at the beginning of the decade, Jing & Jangsters have since zoomed in on a variety of
Jamaican styles. Be it the angular bounce of ska, the softer sway of rocksteady
or the still mellower flow of reggae, Tampere’s troupers have tackled every
aspect of it with loving care. In the spring 1997 they toured Scandinavia in the company
of one of the most venerable veterans of Jamaican pop, Laurel Aitken. In their seven-year
lifetime they’ve shared the stage also with other legendary masters like Dennis
Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Bunny Wailer and the Skatalites. And, being genuine multi-cultural
pop emissaries, Jing & Jangsters have found it worthwhile to translate many
international hits into the various dialects of reggae. Merikukka Kiviharju
– voc, fl
Markku Mäkiranta – dr
Timo Skaaja – b
Repe Reilin – perc
Kuhna Kauppinen – g, voc
Pirkko Kontkanen – voc, vl
Jarno Forsman – keyb |
