Earl 'Chinna' Smith Is The 'Session's Sensei'

Looking at his tall wiry frame, and the small, sunshade-covered face, it would be easy to liken Earl Chinna Smith to some kind of martial arts guru, someone not too far removed from, let's say, a' teacher of capoeira(the Afro-Brazilian martial arts style), who was also present in Kingston's Emancipation Park.

But after a few masterful strums and picks of his guitar , which he described as my best friend one is sure that any credibility he may have in fighting styles, is far subservient to his musical abilities. After 500 + discs (and counting) to his credit over nearly five decades, he is worthy of the title, Sessions Sensei. But after listening to his vital insights and sobering reflections on the journey , both recording and touring , with the likes of Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Aswad and more, one must again take a new measure of this man.

Sliced by a now defunct train line, south-west Kingston's Greenwich Town is one of the authentic cradles of the Jamaican sound now famous worldwide, on an equal footing with the more vaunted Trench Town. Smith was born and nurtured here, from the wrong side of the tracks if you will. He came up during that time when the Jamaican sound was just finding its legs and, even with scarce resources, bands were popping up all over Kingston. A devotee of the guitar since his earliest awareness, Smith joined one such and his prowess in short order made him the leader and launched what would be the storied, international career pitifully known only to a few persistent locals and to a growing army of foreign journalists and' worshippers.

They converge on his Kingston home, joined by a growing band of young aficionados and Rasta converts, in a huge, informal , but highly informed , jam session and Street Philosophy session, not unlike the presentation the wary audience is hearing on this occasion, hosted by the Jamaica reggae Industry association (JaRIA) in a series dubbed Reggae University that will form part of the 5th annual official observance of Reggae Month. The celebrations, according to JaRIA head Charles Campbell dovetail neatly into the US-origin Black History Month as our music has been at the forefront of the global liberation struggle from the beginning.

Chinna's recollections confirm this, offering personal asides from Bob and references to several other unsung heroes of the Jamaican music machine, like the recently departed Reggie Lewis, whose Upsetters, under Lee Scratch Perry gave Marley Small Axe and other gems, Lyn Tait, credited as the progenitor of the rocksteady beat (and celebrated in a movie a few years back), and Aston Family Man Barrett, who was once described as the greatest bass player I've ever heard. Who paid that compliment? One Miles Davis, whose career roster includes several of the world's most revered bassists.

And, at the end of it all, Smith had a typically icy barb in response to the question of is take on the recent Grammy tribute to the Gong. It lackin' me yout, it lackin. But then, no pingwing (penguin , a reference to the coat-and tails tuxedos of the Grammy committee) can't captcha da man deh.

Smooth, slick and full of life , just like a capoeira move.