Rico Rodriguez

Rico Rodriguez  MBE (born  Emmanuel Rodriguez; 17 October 1934 [1] ), also known as  Reco or  El Reco, is a  ska and  reggae  trombonist. He has  recorded with many  producers, including Karl Pitterson,  Prince Buster, and  Lloyd 'Matador' Daley. He is known as one of the first and most distinguished  Ska artists

==Career<span class="mw-editsection mw-editsection-expanded" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;direction:ltr;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left:-0.25em;margin-right:0.25em;color:rgb(85,85,85);"> == <p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Rodriguez was born in Cuba and moved with his family to Jamaica at an early age.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Campbell_2-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[2]  He grew up in Kingston, Jamaica, and was taught to play the trombone by his slightly older schoolmateDon Drummond at the Alpha Boys School.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMG_1-1" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[1]  In the 1950s, he became a Rastafarian and became closely musically related to rasta drummer, Count Ossie.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Campbell_2-1" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[2]  In 1961, he moved to the UK and started to play in reggae bands there.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Campbell121011_3-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[3]  In 1976, he recorded the album, Man from Wareika under contract with Island Records.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMG_1-2" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[1]  In the late 1970s, with the arrival of the 2 Tone genre, he played with ska revival bands such as The Specials. One of his most notable performances was on The Specials' song, "A Message to You, Rudy".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMG_1-3" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[1]

Rico Rodriguez at Guilfest 2012<p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Rodriguez also helmed his own outfit, Rico and the Rudies, to yield the albums Blow Your Horn and Brixton Cat.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMG_1-4" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[1]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In 1995, Island Records released the album Roots to the Bone, an updated version of Rodriguez's earlier work, Man from Wareika.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Since 1996, amongst other engagements, he has played with Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra and he also performs at various skafestivals throughout Europe with his own band. He performed with Holland at Jools' Annual Hootenanny, 2011.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">He was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) at Buckingham Palace on 12 July 2007, for services to music.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[4]  In October 2012 he was awarded the Silver Musgrave Medal by the Institute of Jamaica in recognition of his contribution to Jamaican music.