American film-maker gives back to Jamaica

Brad Klein

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Brad Klein, whose documentary Legends of Ska will be shown Wednesday during the Jamaica Film Festival, will present a cache of digital master tapes to the Institute of Jamaica, this afternoon.

The 100 digital DV Cams contain the concert, rehearsals and interviews surrounding the Legends of Ska show he promoted at the Palais Royale Ballroom in Toronto in July, 2002.

The show featured a who’s who of ska legends, including The Skatalites, Rico Rodriquez, Alton Ellis, Prince Buster, Derrick Morgan, Lord Creator, Stranger Cole and Patsy Todd.

“This is Jamaican music so I feel I’m giving something back. They’re (artistes, musicians) coming home,” said 51-year-old Klein.

Klein, who is from Minneapolis, staged the concert two years after he began working on the documentary which has been shown at small film and music festivals throughout Europe, the United States, Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago.

He discovered Jamaican music in the early 1980s while attending college in New York. Klein later worked with a number of reggae acts such as Culture and Eek-A-Mouse at the Washington DC independent label, Ras Records.

Legends of Ska will be shown Wednesday at the JAMPRO Auditorium in Kingston.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/American-filmmaker-gives-back-to-Jamaica

Published Date: July 6th, 2015