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Tommy McCook

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Tommy McCook
Birth nameThomas Matthew McCook
Born(1927-03-04)4 March 1927
Havana, Cuba
OriginJamaica
Died5 May 1998(1998-05-05) (aged 71)
Atlanta, Georgia
GenresSka, rocksteady, reggae
InstrumentSaxophone
LabelsStudio One
Formerly ofThe Skatalites
Tommy McCook and the Supersonics

Tommy McCook OD (4 March 1927 – 5 May 1998) was a Jamaican saxophonist. A founding member of The Skatalites, he also directed The Supersonics for Duke Reid, and backed many sessions for Bunny Lee or with The Revolutionaries at Channel One Studios in the 1970s.[1]

Biography

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Early life

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Thomas Matthew McCook was born March 4, 1927. While some sources claim he was born to Jamaican parents in Havana, Cuba, and moved to Jamaica in 1933,[2] others claim that he was born in Kingston, Jamaica.[3]

He was raised by his mother,[4] who worked in the kitchen of a beachfront music club in Kingston. There, McCook sometimes watched bands rehearse, an experience he later cited as fostering an early interest in music. He began learning the tenor saxophone at age eleven,[2] after his mother enrolled him at the Alpha Cottage School in 1938.[5]: 8 

Career

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McCook joined Eric Deans' Orchestra in 1943 after Deans selected him from the graduating class at the Alpha School. He spent several years playing in various groups, including Don Hitchman’s sextet and Roy Coburn’s Blu-Flames.[2]

In 1954, he left for an engagement in Nassau, Bahamas, after which he ended up in Miami, Florida, and it was here that McCook first heard John Coltrane, a major influence on his playing.[6] McCook would later call jazz his "first love" and additionally cite Coleman Hawkins, Sonny Rollins, Lester Young, and Ornette Coleman as influences.[4]

McCook returned to Jamaica in early 1962, where he was approached by a few local producers to do some recordings. Eventually, he consented to record a jazz session for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, which was issued on the album Jazz Jamaica.[6] His first ska recording was an adaptation of Ernest Gold's "Exodus", recorded in November 1963 with musicians who would soon make up the Skatalites.[6]

In 1968, he led Tommy McCook & The Supersonics, featuring bassist Jackie Jackson and drummer Paul Douglas, who would later become the rhythm section for Toots and the Maytals, when the era of reggae emerged from rocksteady.[citation needed]

During the 1960s and 1970s, McCook recorded with the majority of prominent reggae artists of the era, working particularly with producers Clement "Coxsone" Dodd as well as Bunny Lee, and his house band, The Aggrovators, as well as being featured prominently in the recordings of Yabby You and the Prophets (most notably on version sides and extended discomixes), all while still performing and recording with the variety of line ups under the Skatalites name.[7]

In 1978, Tommy McCook made a brief cameo in the film Rockers directed by Theodoros Bafaloukos. He was also part of the Rockers All Stars, the group responsible for the film's instrumental music.[citation needed]

After a heart attack in 1995, McCook temporarily withdrew from touring with the reformed Skatalites, a change which became permanent in 1996.[8] He recorded on the band's albums through the mid-1990s until a triple-bypass surgery kept him from the Ball of Fire (1997) sessions.[4]

McCook died of pneumonia and heart failure, aged 71, in Atlanta, on 5 May 1998.[9]

Honors

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In 1975, McCook was honored with Jamaica's Order of Distinction for his contributions to music.[2] In 1997, The Slackers paid tribute to McCook with "Cooking for Tommy," an instrumental track on their album Redlight.[10]

Selected Discography[11]

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  • Top Secret (1969, Techniques)
  • The Sannic Sounds Of Tommy McCook (1974, Micron Music Limited / South East Music Limited)
    • Released in the United Kingdom as Horny Dub (1976, Grounation)[12]
  • Reggae In Jazz (1976, Eve)
  • Cookin' Shuffle (1995, Jamaica Authentic)
  • The Authentic Ska Sound of Tommy McCook (1998, Moon Records)
  • Down On Bond Street (1999, Trojan Records)
  • Tommy's Last Stand (2001, Creole)
  • Blazing Horns/Tenor In Roots (2003, Blood & Fire)
  • Real Cool: The Jamaican King of the Saxophone '66-'77 (2005, Trojan Records)

With The Skatalites

  • Tommy McCook & The Skatalites - The Skatalite! (1969, Treasure Island)

With Bobby Ellis

  • Green Mango (1974, Attack)
  • Blazing Horns (1977, Grove Music)

With The Aggrovators

  • Brass Rockers (1975, Total Sounds)
    • Released in the United Kingdom as Cookin' (1975, Horse)[13]
  • King Tubby Meets The Aggrovators At Dub Station (1975, Live and Love)
  • Super Star - Disco Rockers (1977, Weed Beat)
    • Released in the United Kingdom as Hot Lava (1977, Third World)[14]
  • Instrumental Reggae (1992, RAS)
  • Show Case - 1975 (1997, Culture Press)

With Yabby You

  • Yabby You Meets Tommy McCook In Dub (Peacemaker)
  • Yabby You Meets Sly & Robie Along With Tommy McCook (Prophets)

With Herbie Mann[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Tommy McCook Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Keyo, Brian (1999). The Best Of Tommy McCook And The Skatalites: Tribute to Tommy (CD) (Liner notes). Heartbeat Records. OCLC 697958415.
  3. ^ Perrone, Pierre (5 June 1998). "Obituary: Tommy McCook". The Independent. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Foster, Chuck (1999). Roots, rock, reggae : an oral history of reggae music from ska to dancehall. New York, NY: Billboard Books, an imprint of Watson-Guptill Publications. pp. 9–14. ISBN 0823078310. OCLC 40839497. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
  5. ^ Barrow, Steve; Dalton, Peter (2004). The Rough Guide to Reggae (3rd ed.). London: Rough Guides Ltd. ISBN 1843533294. OCLC 56807952.
  6. ^ a b c "Tommy McCook - Bio in English". Skabadip.com. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Skatalites, The Biography". musicianguide.com. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  8. ^ Deming, Mark. "The Skatalites". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
  9. ^ Doc Rock. "The Dead Rock Stars Club 1998 - 1999". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  10. ^ Partridge, Kenneth (2021). Hell of a Hat: The Rise of ’90s Ska and Swing. University Park, PA: Penn State University Press. p. 163. ISBN 9780271090559. LCCN 2021012731. OCLC 1240414097.
  11. ^ "Tommy McCook Albums and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  12. ^ "Tommy McCook – The Sannic Sounds Of Tommy McCook (Horny Dub)". Discogs. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  13. ^ "Bunny Lee & King Tubby Present Tommy McCook And The Aggravators* – Brass Rockers". Discogs. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  14. ^ "Tommy McCook & The Agrovators – Super Star - Disco Rockers". Discogs. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  15. ^ Herbie Mann - Reggae, 1974, retrieved 19 February 2023
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