Belafonte popularized the Jamaican folk song “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” by recording it for his hit 1956 album “Calypso,” which helped bring the music genre to the masses.

Mention Jamaican music to most Americans and the pop sounds of reggae usually come to mind. But there’s much more—the wonderfully rich harmonies of choral music, hundreds of rarely heard sacred songs ...

The grand maestro of Jamaican music: Carlos Malcolm at Steakhouse Studios in Los Angeles. (Credit: Bernadette Madden) Carlos Malcolm may not be a household name, but it should be. Without this now ...

Mento is the name given to Jamaican folk music that emerged in the 1940s and 1950s. Similar to Calypso, which originated in Trinidad, the sound of Mento can be traced back to the convergent ...

Reggae is a unique fusion of local folk music with outside influences. The local folk music was a Jamaican form called mento – which used saxophones, flutes, bamboo fifes, PVC pipes, banjos ...

The Jamaican-born, London-raised photographer Dennis Morris is best known for his portraits of Bob Marley: a teenaged Morris, ...

At its core, Jamaican music culture is a project of self-determination. Reggae emerged in the ‘60s and ‘70s out of political protest, disenfranchisement, and social change in Jamaica.

One Drum is an EP that celebrates the cultural ties that unite Africa and its diaspora. Leading the project is the song Stop Stressing – a collaboration between Jamaican music icons Stephen ...

Folk legend Joan Baez reflects on a life in music and activism After six decades performing, folk legend Joan Baez is saying farewell to music with a tour this summer.

Carlos Malcolm may not be a household name, but it should be. Without this now 90-year-old innovator of Jamaican music—this composer, this trombonist, this conductor, this arranger, this ...