.....
So I come from a jazzy, jam band root of guitar playing into reggae music, but most of the musicians and bands I jam reggae with these days don't want to jam!
Reggae has such a wonderful combination of possessed, driving bass lines and simple but eloquent rhythm chord patterns which allow for some serious creative jamming! It is evident in
The Congos, in
Burning Spear , in early
Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus guitar work, and yet, most artists I play with even get upset and say "Naphty, ease up on the solo over the verse." These foundation artists are the ones who inspire me to expand my own guitar work in this direction, but the brothers today just ain't hearin it!
Haven't these brothers ever heard of a lead riff?
it always disappoints me because when I jam with the few like minded brothers who know its potential, or even just warm up scales over my iPod, the leads are just flying its like jerry garcia!! and yet these brothers just don't have a taste for it, it sucks as a musician because it is so bitterly stifling and creatively hostile...
I am waiting for the perfect opportunity to start a roots reggae jam band, its is already in the works, me and a good brother were just mutually complaining about this the other day..