Augustus Pablo's importance as a producer, composer and musician is monumental.
As one of the prime architects of dub music he changed the course of reggae and initiated musical currents which shaped dance music, hip-hop and the spectrum of styles known as "electronica."
A highly creative musician on piano, organ, clavinet and sythnesizer, he virtually single-handedly established the melodica - previously considered nothing more than a child's toy - as a serious musical instrument.
His melodic genius shaped the distinctive "far east" sound, a sinuous, haunting, minor-key, sometime modal sonic palette.
He also fostered young talent, nurturing the careers of such artists as Jacob Miller, Jr. Reid (later of Black Uhuru), Hugh Mundell (he produced Mundell's classic debut "Africa Must Be Free By 1983"), Delroy Williams, Tetrack (whose leader, Carlton Hines, went on to be one of Jamaica's better songwriters), Norris Reid, Jr., Delgado and many more.

Yet when Pablo died on May 18, 1999, he was only known to a modest cult of fans - a world-wide cult nonetheless - despite having produced two of the greatest reggae masterpieces of all time: King Tubby Meets The Rockers Uptown and East Of The River Nile.
To a large degree this can be explained by Pablo's reclusive nature.
He rarely performed outside of the studio.
He was quiet, very serious and self-effacing and had no interest at all in being a "star."
Those who knew him always mention his devotion to music; he was always working on new music and devoted little or no energy to promotion of himself or his music.
Pablo was not a musician-for-hire; he only worked on projects which were meaningful to him and unlike top Jamaican session players his name did not appear on endless hundreds of albums.
As a devout Rastafarian, he was prone to attribute the production of an album to Haile Selassie and many of his recordings were imbued with spiritual meaning.
Mundane marketing issues simply did not occupy him.
When he presented the master tapes of King Tubby Meets The Rockers Uptown album to Shanachie, it was pointed out to him that there were only eleven titles listed but twelve tracks on the album.
It was suggested that people would be confused by the extra track.
"They will give thanks (when they discover the extra track)" was Pablo's answer.

Of course, Augustus Pablo was not his given name.
He was born Horace Swaby in 1954 in a middleclass area of Kingston and didn't acquire his nom-de-plume until 1971 at the age of seventeen, when he began hanging out at Herman Chin-Loy's Aquarius record shop in Half Way Tree.
Chin-Loy spotted him outside, holding a melodica given to him by a young girl and, after asking him if he could play it, was so impressed with his playing that he asked the youth to play on a session.
Pablo played melodica, piano and organ on a set of unique, raw instrumentals and Chin-Loy bestowed on the talented youth the name °Augustus Pablo" which he had been using as an artist name for other Aquarius label releases featuring such artists as Glen Adams, organist of The Upsetters.

By the next year Pablo had scored his first major hit, "Java," for Clive Chin of Randy's Records. Soon Pablo established his Rockers label (named after his brother's sound system) and along with Lee "Scratch" Perry, Niney and Glen Brown became one of the leading "rebel" producers who revolutionized reggae.
Pablo produced outstanding tracks on Dillinger, The Heptones, Jacob Miller and Ricky Grant as well as his own unique instrumental and dub creations.
An early alliance with King Tubby was crucial as Pablo and Tubby together created highly individual and creative mixes and dub versions.
By 1976 Pablo had released a substantially re-imagined single version of "East Of The River Nile."
Nothing like it had ever been heard before in the world of reggae or in the world beyond.
A hypnotic bass-and-drum pattern is topped by jazzy guitar accents and snaky melodica riffs bathed in discreet washes of reverb.
1977 saw the release of Pablo's epic dub King Tubby Meets The Rockers Uptown and shortly thereafter the full "East Of The River Nile" album appeared internationally - an instrumental work rather than a dub album.
It delivers the fullest flowering of Pablo's melodic genius as one beautiful melody follows another on the album's twelve tracks, only some of which had appeared as singles.
The 25th Anniversary version, which you now hold in your hands, is the original album plus several bonus tracks: the original version of the title composition, several dub versions of album tracks and two rare single tracks from that era.

Following the release of "East Of The River Nile" Pablo continued to produce beguiling and memorable music on a series of albums and singles as well releasing his productions of the young talent he fostered.
His public persona was marked by his prodigious indulgence of sacramental herb; the cover of his "Original Rockers" captures him engulfed in clouds of smoke puffed from a distinctive chalice.
As the new dancehall era brought drum machines, synth-basses and other synthetic instruments to the fore, Pablo experimented with them as well.
Pablo's productions always had a unique identity; his sense of phrasing and melody, choice of rhythms and approach to mixing set him apart. His sound was never duplicated or even credibly imitated.

For a number of years Pablo struggled with various ailments, aggravated by poor diet.
In the late 1980's he seemed to improve under the care of his "bush doctor," a herbalist who on Pablo's recommendation prepared a remedy for me to carry back to the States for two sisters I knew who were troubled by an arthritic condition.
His death, when it came, was completely unexpected.
The purity of his musical vision and devotion to it is rare and continues to be inspirational.
Although Pablo's music lives on and his impact on the world of music reverberates still, he is sorely missed.

:: RANDALL GRASS

Special thanks to Karen Scott, Charlie Morgan, Roger Steffens, Doug Wendt, Lance Linares, Ernie B, Pressure Sounds, Mary Perry, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Allen Katz, Mutabaruka, Herman Chin-Loy, Adrian Sherwood, Neil Fraser, Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Rachel Mintz, Clare Pritty, Ted Singer, Alex Paterson, and Rob Deacon @ BAD.ORB