R. Zee Jackson has died

Another sad day for the international reggae community. The sudden passing of Canadian reggae pioneer and musical godfather to many, R. Zee Jackson, has been announced by his family, including Natania and his children.

Reggae has never respected borders. Born in Jamaica, the music travelled with its people and found new homes in London, New York, Toronto and countless other cities. In Toronto, one of the key figures helping reggae find its feet was R. Zee Jackson, also known as Esso Jaxxon and Castro Pink.

Jackson’s career is particularly interesting because he was never just a singer. He worked as a vocalist, percussionist, multi-instrumentalist, engineer and producer, moving comfortably between the stage and the studio. His contribution to Toronto’s reggae community is closely connected to the rise of Eglinton Avenue West, the area that became known as Little Jamaica.

Jackson was born in Clarendon and spent part of his childhood in Old Harbour, St. Catherine. Growing up in Jamaica, he absorbed the sounds of the island’s sound systems and the transition from rocksteady into roots reggae. Music was already part of his surroundings long before he began making records himself.

His first major move abroad came in 1973, when he travelled to the US on a cultural exchange programme and worked at summer camps. In 1975, he relocated to Canada permanently. Toronto was changing rapidly at the time. Caribbean immigration was bringing Jamaican culture into the city, while musicians and producers were creating a reggae network of their own. Jackson quickly became part of that movement. He worked with producer Oswald Creary at Half Moon Studio and engineer Doug McClement at Comfort Sounds Studio. He also met Jackie Mittoo, the brilliant keyboard player and former Studio One musical director, as well as Leroy Sibbles of The Heptones.

Sibbles invited Jackson to join the Ital Groove Band. It proved to be an important step. Jackson sang harmonies, played gong bap and congas, and handled engineering duties in the studio. In other words, he wasn’t simply part of the band. He understood how all the pieces fitted together. The group spent months touring before returning to Toronto to record. And when Sibbles was busy with his solo career, Jackson kept things moving with The Groove, also known as Jamafrica or Hit Squad.

By the late 1970s and through the 1980s, Jackson was deeply involved in Toronto’s reggae community. He could be found in the studio several times a week, recording, engineering and producing. His work appeared on independent labels such as BeeZee Sounds Production, Ital and Radio Plus. This was also a period when Toronto’s Eglinton Avenue West was becoming a real centre for Jamaican culture. Record shops, restaurants, studios, musicians, sound systems and the wider Caribbean community helped turn the area into what we now know as Little Jamaica. Jackson was right in the middle of it.

Jackie Mittoo encouraged him to look beyond Canada, and in 1980 Jackson travelled to London. There he worked with producer Mike Brooks and recorded a number of dancehall and digital roots tracks. “Ina South Africa” addressed apartheid in South Africa, while “At The Reggae Party” showed his ability to deliver music aimed squarely at the sound system crowd.

Jackson also understood that a long career in reggae required more than musical talent. He wanted to know the business side of the industry as well. In the 1990s, he enrolled at Toronto’s Trebas Institute and graduated in 1996 with a degree in Music Business Administration. By then, he had already spent years learning the business the hard way, through studios, touring and independent production. His education strengthened that experience. Jackson later ran DubWorl Audio Visual HQ, worked with Imaaj Music and became Vice President of Marketing for Kings of Kings Inc.

His connection with Jamaican roots music remained strong. In the 2000s, he reunited with his longtime friend Cedric Myton of The Congos. Jackson went on to work closely with the group as a producer, musician and touring partner, linking his Toronto experience with one of roots reggae’s most respected names.

His earlier recordings have also found a second life. Labels such as Jamwax have reissued mid-1980s productions including “Long Long Time” and his version of “Row Fisherman Row”. That’s important because it puts Jackson’s music back into the hands of today’s vinyl collectors and sound system selectors.

What makes R. Zee Jackson’s story stand out is the sheer breadth of his involvement. He wasn’t only performing reggae. He was helping build the infrastructure around it, from the studio and mixing desk to the stage and record business.

His journey from rural Clarendon to Toronto’s Little Jamaica is a reminder that reggae’s history can’t be contained within Jamaica’s borders. The music travelled because people like Jackson travelled. And wherever he went, he carried a piece of Jamaica with him.

Rest In Eternal Peace, King.

(Photo contributed)