ROBERT PALMER : Music & Style

Jamaican drummer Lowell Fillmore "Sly" Dunbar has died at the age of 73. Best known for being one half of the famous Reggae rhythm section Sly & Robbie with bassist Robbie Shakespeare (who died in 2021) as the other half, Dunbar is said to have learned playing drums as a teenager by listening to records from Otis Redding, Booker T. & The MG's, Sly and The Family Stone, amongst others.

He and Shakespeare first met in 1972. Together, they started accepting offers from other bands and artists (notably Peter Tosh from the Wailers) before creating their own label Taxi in 1980. The same year, Island Records founder Chris Blackwell assembled a new house band to back artists from the label. "I wanted a new, progressive-sounding band," said Blackwell, "a Jamaican rhythm section with an edgy mid-range and a brilliant synth player. And I got what I wanted, fortunately."

The Compass Point All Stars, the band named after the studio built by Blackwell in the Bahamas, comprised Sly Dunbar on drums, Robbie Shakespeare on bass, Uziah "Sticky" Thompson on percussion, Mikey Chung and Barry Reynolds on guitar, plus Wally Badarou on keyboards.

Together, under Blackwell's direction and building on co-producer Alex Sadkin's remarkable skills at engineering and mixing, they delivered a highly-praised and distinct sound for what are today viewed as seminal albums by Grace Jones (Warm Leatherette, Nightclubbing, Living My Life) or Joe Cocker (Sheffield Steel).

The recording band would eventually encompass other Bahamian resident stars, most notably Robert Palmer (who lived just across the street from the studio), Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth (of Talking Heads fame).

Through the 1980s, Sly & Robbie also recorded under their own name - scoring a UK Top 20 hit in 1987 with  Boops (Here To Go) - and appeared on pop/rock albums by Bob Dylan (Infidels), Mick Jagger (She's The Boss), The Rolling Stones (Undercover) and Jackson Browne (World In Motion), amongst many others.

It's been estimated that, over the decades, Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare played on more than 200,000 recordings, including the original tracks, remixes and numerous songs that have sampled their work.

Dunbar was a 13-time Grammy nominee and a 2-time winner.

When asked in a 2020 interview what he'd liked to be remembered for, Dunbar replied: "Making some great records, being in some great groups, playing some nice drums patterns, starting reggae all over. Just because I've been reading that what I'm playing makes you just want to dance, you just want to get to the club, this is what I'm all about. To make people dance."

Voir aussi :

• Compass Point Story (livret de la compilation Funky Nassau - 2008)
• Wally Badarou Interview  (Test Pressing - 2009)
• Chris Frantz And Tina Weymouth Remember Years At Compass Point (Red Bull Music Academy - 2014)
• Compass Point All Stars: Quand Le Meilleur Groupe Du Monde Se Trouvait Aux Bahamas  (Télérama - 2020)
• When Nassau, Bahamas, Was The Center Of The Music World  (Caribbean Journal - 2023)
• Island Records: Dénicheur Visionnaire De Talents Reggae  (The Good Life - 2023)
• Wally Badarou Interview  (The Guardian - 2023)