Cedric Im Brooks & The Light of Saba (Honest Jons Records, 2003)

Renowned saxophonist Cedric Brooks has appeared on tracks by reggae luminaries like The Abyssinians, Bob Marley, Prince Far I, Culture, and Toots & The Maytals, but this collection showcases his very own brainchild, The Light of Saba.  LOS is (or rather, was) an ensemble of talented Jamaican musicians who brought to fruition Brooks' dream of combining reggae with diverse elements such as jazz, funk, Afro-pop, and Cuban music.  Inspired largely by American jazz fusion legend Sun Ra and his band, The Light of Saba dressed in African garb and featured dancers while performing a largely instrumental blend of sounds.  Even today, around 30 years after many of these songs were recorded, this material still sounds fresh and unlike anything you're likely to see on the reggae shelves (or shelf -- who am I kidding?) of your local music store.  While non-reggae elements permeate most of this album, reggae is still the foundation and is readily identifiable on most of the tracks here.  The sound of many of the most roots-oriented tunes -- such as "Lambs Bread Collie," "Free Up Black Man" (and its DJ version, "Outcry," featuring Mutabaruka), "Salt Lane Rock," "Rasta Lead on Version," and "Rebirth" -- is comparable to that of Ras Michael's work, as Rasta drumming forms a large part of the music.  But LOS has more jazzy, eclectic inclination than Ras Michael's work, so we get wonderful avant-garde pieces like the Latin-edged jazz funk of "Sabasi," the '70s funk/roots mix "Sabebe," the Middle Eastern/roots blend "Sabayindah," the African-infused funk of "Africa," the jazzy roots of "Jah Light Is Right," and the Afro-Cuban jazz of "Song for My Father."  The weakest selections are the traditional songs that SOL covers -- particularly the Afro-pop "Nobody’s Business," as well as "Sly Mongoose" and "Ethiopian Tikdem," all of which come off as too fast, cutesy, and old-fashioned, although fans of jazzy ska may be intrigued.  Even their rendition of The Abyssinians" "Satta Massagana," though OK, is ultimately too straightforward and adds little to the original.  Still, beyond those 4 or 5 tracks, Cedric Im Brooks & The Light of Saba is an inspirational textbook on the adaptive quality of reggae and the universality of music.  Granted, this album may not appeal to every reggae fan's tastes -- most of the tracks are instrumentals or have few vocals (maybe just an occasional chant, as on "Rasta Lead on Version" or "Sabete"), and some of the tunes are simply not reggae -- but on the whole, it's a monumental achievement in artistic freedom.