Fazal Paying His Dues

     In June I shared some Fazal Prendergast.
Let me tell you a bit about his untimely passing & share some of his early collaborations. 

 

On April 1, 2005 Fazal Prendergast, a well-loved Jamaican-born guitarist who toured & recorded with many reggae legends drowned after his car veered off Highway 101 & plunged into the Eel River. Prendergast was driving alone on his way to a gig in Arcata,CA with reggae singer Don Carlos. The previous night, Prendergast had played at a reggae bash at SoMa Arts in San Francisco with Carlos & dance-hall singer Sister I-Live. The accident occurred at about 1:30 p.m. in Piercy at the Humboldt County line. It is unclear what caused his 1991 Mercedes Benz to swerve off the road before a bridge & fall 150 feet into the river. The car immediately sank. Prendergast managed to surface with his prized Fender Stratocaster. He struggled to swim to shore. Bystanders rushed to the banks of the river (one person even went into the icy water in a rescue attempt). But the current swept Prendergast downstream, eventually pulling him & his guitar under. Prendergast's guitar resurfaced. His body was found two hours later a quarter-mile downstream.

Prendergast's career began in 1974 when he worked as a session musician with composer Augustus Pablo & his Rockers International record label in Kingston. 

 

Augustus Pablo's Rockers All Stars - Chanting Dub with the Help of His Majesty, Rockers, 1977.
all decryption codes in comments

Side A -
Hammer Dub
Fire Dub
Firm Dub
Children Dub
H.I.M. Dub

Side B -
Clean Sweep
Jah Dub
Money Dub
Santic Dub
Equal Rights Dub

 

 

 

 

 

In 1983, Prendergast joined Earl "Chinna" Smith's High Times Label & toured with Jamaican poet Mutabaruka with the High Times Players. Prendergast played rhythm guitar on Mutabaruka's albums Dub Poets Dub & Outcry.

I’ve previously shared Dub Poets Dub here. So here’s Outcry.

 

Mutabaruka - Outcry, Shanachie 43023, 1984,

Side A -
Prisoner
Outcry
Rememberance
Canaan Lan'
Any Means Necessary
Free Up de Lan'

Side B -
Blacks in Amerika
Sistas Poem
Black Queen
Nursery Rhyme Lament
Saga of "Too Kool"

Enjoy,
NØ