GRAB YOUR FREE DIGITAL COPY OF BAREFOOT BOY, ISSUE #1 OF TROMBONE MAN: SKA'S FALLEN GENIUS, THE TRUE TRAGIC STORY OF SKA TROMBONIST DON DRUMMOND.
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So, who exactly was Don Drummond?
CHECK OUT THIS SELECTION OF COMIC ART FROM ISSUE #1:
I'm Adam Reeves, writer/publisher of Trombone Man. I've been a fan of the instrumental ska sound of the Skatalites for over 35 years. Telling the Don Drummond story in comic book form is something I dreamed about for a long time, before deciding during lockdown in 2020 to finally go for it.
Its an adaptation of Heather Augustyn's book, Don Drummond: the Genius and Tragedy of the World's Greatest Trombonist. Heather and I had previously written a book together about Jamaica's Alpha Boys School. She kindly gave me permission to adapt her book as a graphic novel.
After a worldwide search for a suitable comics artist, I found my perfect collaborator, Costantinos Pissourios, AKA Versioncos14, who had gained a global reputation creating tributes to classic and lesser-known reggae artists, producers and soundsystem pioneers, amassing a body of work for leading reggae labels and soundsystems. I the spring of 2022 I went out to visit him in his eco-home in the in the wild mountains of Cyprus. We bonded over a love of reggae and comics art.
Scroll through these samples of his work: the Skatalites, U-Roy, Jah Shaka Bunny 'Striker' Lee, King Jammy and Iration Steppers.
Here's me and Costantinos by his home made soundsystem. His new puppy, Pixel wandered into the shot and it became the inspiration for the logo of my comics publishing venture, Hearsay Media, a reggae soundsystem update on RCA's classic, His Master's Voice, one of the most iconic logos of all-time.
In November 2022 we successfully crowdfunded on Kickstarter to raise the production costs for issue #1 in the 7-part series. The global reggae and ska fanbase supported us by pre-ordering enough copies and other goodies to enable us to commence production in early 2023.
Titled Barefoot Boy, this first issue focusses on Don Drummond's childhood growing up during the 1940s and sees him running wild on the streets of Kingston and finding himself on the wrong side of the law - with life changing consequences...
In February 2024, I collected the first print run, a limited edition of 750 copies, 250 of which had an alternate cover design). They are all individually signed and numbered. Check out the video below to witness the moment I first opened one. After years of dreaming and planning, it was worth the wait!
A first pressing of this fifty page, stunningly printed comic can be yours for just £10 plus shipping (worldwide - shipping rates vary). It includes a print of the front cover plus a downloadable 2-track single, by Swiss ska band the Skatanauts. I also have 'art packs' which is the comic plus a sketchbook, stickers, postcards and an additional print.
Click here if you'd like to grab a signed and numbered copy. Ships worldwide.
ABOUT YOUR FREE GIFT:
TAKE A DEEP DIVE INTO SOME JAMAICAN MUSIC HISTORY.
Eleven chapters - over 100 pages - especially selected by me, from Alpha Boys School: Cradle of Jamaican Music.
THE SCHOOL THAT STARTED A MUSICAL REVOLUTION!
Behind Jamaica's global musical reverberations lies the unlikely story of a boarding school run by Roman Catholic nuns, with a brass band that helped shape some of the world's most beloved musical forms. Under a strict disciplinarian regime, boys from some of the toughest streets in the world went on to the lay the foundations of Jamaican jazz, ska, rocksteady, reggae, dancehall and dub. The story of the Alpha boys is the untold history of Jamaican music.
Here's me and my co-author Heather Augustyn together with reggae singer and ex-Alpha boy Johnny Osbourne, fresh from a discussion panel at the Reggae University event at Rototom Sunsplash Festival in Benacassim, Spain in 2018.
The free giveaway features a ten page chapter on the history of '60s ska-jazz giants the Skatalites as well as individual biographies of ten of Alpha's most brilliant musicians, most of whom are sadly no longer with us. Featuring rare interviews and painstakingly sourced photographs, the book is the result of many years of research and a must for both die-hard afficionados and curious newcomers. Here's what some UK music mags wrote about the book:
A very welcome reference book who's lightness of touch serves the weight of its subject. Kevin Le Gendre, Jazzwize magazine.
...If you're interested in the development of ska and reggae music, this is well worth seeking out. John Masouri, Echoes Magazine.
...a fine tribute to the school but also a significant contribution to the ongoing documentation of Jamaica's musical heritage. Steve Barker, Wire Magazine.
You'll recieve chapters on the following legendary Jamaican horn players:
Cedric 'IM' Brooks, saxophonist from Divine Light of Saba and Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, who pioneered his own brand of reggae-Afrobeat fusion.
Trumpet player Bobby Ellis, who played on countless sessions throughout the ska and roots reggae eras, notably Burning Spear's landmark LP Marcus Garvey.
A chapter each on trombonist Rico Rodriguez (the Specials) and trumpet player Eddie 'Tan Tan' Thornton, who worked with the Beatles, Georgie Fame, the Rolling Stones, Aswad, Ska Cubano and Kitty, Daisy & Lewis.
Vin Gordon, AKA 'Don Drummond Junior' started out in Studio One's house band Sound Dimension and later played with Aswad, Bob Marley, Burning Spear, Lee 'Scratch' Perry. The Skatalites and many more.
A founding member of the Skatalites, alto sax (and sometimes flute) player Lester Stirling outlived all of his band members as the sole surviving original member until his passing in May 2023.
Tommy McCook was the Skatalites band leader who went on to pioneer the roots reggae sound of the 1970s before reforming the Skatalites in the 1980s.
Don Drummond was the 'golden boy' of Alpha, the Skatalites' ska-jazz trombone genius who burned brightly but destroyed everything he held dear right at the peak of his powers.
Johnny 'Dizzy' Moore was Skatalites' 'mystic man,' who got his name from his love of the be-bop trumpet style of jazz giant Dizzy Gillespie.
'Deadly' Headley Bennett arranged the horns on one of the greatest reggae songs of all time, the Abyssinians' 1969 hit Satta A Massagana and played on literally thousands of classic reggae songs.
Here's a little film I made about Alpha Boys School back in 2008. It includes footage from an Alpha Boys reunion concert that I filmed in London in 2007 featuring several of the musicians above.
