Roots reggae at root level

The Melodians unearth Rocksteady's organic origins at Monk's

By: Dan Fletcher

Posted: 3/26/07

No matter how hard the schmaltz of Sean Paul's club-bangers or the myriad black-lit Bob Marley posters adorning our nation's dorm-room walls try to pull, Reggae's roots burrow much deeper than America's flash-pan pop culture.

Burrowing deep into the rich soils of rhythm and melody-finely tuned amid loved ones, not the rap-game's beloved producers and pro-tools rigs-these traditions promise to dirty the dance floors of Monk's subterranean terra firma as Jamaican fore-bearers, The Melodians take stage this evening.

Reggae's roots grip so fiercely to the musicians who feed off them that it is rare to witness an artist throw in the towel to hock used cars or play the fool on reality television. Through the best of times-and more importantly, the worst of times-the irie-influences of the tradition grow on and genre-definers The Melodians seem to re-bloom with each season.

Established in 1965, as the cadences of the initial Ska craze descended into the buoyant grooves of Rocksteady, The Melodians-Tony Brevet, Brent Dow and Trevor McNaughton-began the process of plating four decades of homegrown reggae jams.

The trio's seeds were cared for meticulously beneath the watchful eye of the genre's most-acclaimed producers-Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, Sonia Pottinger, Arthur "Duke" Reid and Leslie Kong, et al.-but the band never strayed from crafting its own laid-back island jams on its own laid-back, island terms.

January of 2006 saw the death of founding member Brent Dow of a heart attack at age 59, followed by the rebirth of The Melodians in honor of their fallen friend.

Physically descend to root level at Monk's around 9 p.m. to experience the real roots of Jamaican music-spiritually.