1000 Tons Of Megaton - Music

Roland Alphonso Havana Cuba January 12 1931 - Los Angeles California November 20 1998 Aka Rolando Alphonso Or The Chief Musician Was A Jamaican Tenor Saxophonist. Alphonso Came To Jamaica At The Age Of Two With His Jamaican Mother And Started To Learn Saxophone At The Stony Hill Industrial School. In 1948 He Left School To Join Eric Deans' Orchestra And Soon Passed Through Other Bands In The Hotel Circuit And First Recorded As A Member Of Baba Motta's Group In 1952. Around The Mid 1950s He Joined The Band Of Cluett Johnson Named Clue J & The Blues Blasters And Backed Many Sessions Of Coxsone Dodd In A Typical Jamaican R&B Style. By 1960 He Was Recording For Many Other Producers Such As Duke Reid Lloyd "The Matador" Daley And King Edwards. During This Period He Played In Many Different Bands Such As The Alley Cats The City Slickers And Aubrey Adams & The Dew Droppers. In 1963 After Few Months Spent In Nassau Bahamas He Took Part In The Creation Of The Studio One Orchestra The First Session Band Of The Freshly Opened Recording Studio Of Coxsone. This Band Soon Adopted The Name Of The Skatalites. When The Skatalites Disbanded By August 1965 Alphonso Formed The Soul Brothers With Johnny "Dizzy" Moore Jackie Mittoo To Become The Soul Vendors In 1967. He Released The First Album Under His Name In 1973 On The Studio One Record Label. During The 1970s 80s And 90s He Kept On Playing On Numerous Records Coming Out From Jamaican Studios Especially For Bunny Lee And He Toured With Many Bands. He Was Awarded Officer Of The Order Of Distinction By The Jamaican Government In 1980 And Started To Tour More Often In The U.S. He Took Part In The Reformation Of The Skatalites In 1983 With Whom He Toured And Recorded Constantly Until His Death In 1998. read less