Rohan Reid
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Rohan Reid

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"Rifle Road"

Rifle Road, a revealing name for a road in a tense area in urban Kingston, is where this musical odyssey is coming from. It’s about Rohan Reid, one of the most gifted musicians
of his generation. In countless live music sessions in Jamaica, he always impressed with his confidence and dexterity. On bass and guitar, he was effortless, never workmanlike, never labored, just the real deal.
Reaching for a wider landscape, he came north to Orlando, Florida, and his talent blossomed. A wave that’s now reaching you, cresting with his brilliance on bass, piccolo bass, guitar, and his banjo playing is another dimension. His composing, another side of his evolving talent, is summed up perfectly in “I Have Much To Say”. The cover songs take on new life: “Could It Be Falling I’m Falling Love”, refreshed with a reggae feel, and the Latin groove on “Rifle Road,” is in the cut. The players are a perfect fit; Phillip Martin’s saxophone, and the astonishing Sisaundra Lewis, also Mrs. Reid, who brings home, one of the best recent versions of “Lets Stay Together”. The talent here, to use a Jamaican vernacular “must bus”, meaning talent that is rising to the surface so fast, must break out inevitably. It may well be that Rohan Reid with Rifle Road, has made the album of his generation.
- Dermot Hussey Program Director, XM 101 "The Joint"


"Jazz First"

Jamaican Rohan Reid is a bass player of staggering talent. His debut full-length release, Rifle Road, shows that talent has also been enhanced by maturity and a keen imagination.
The title track starts with what seems like a predictable dancehall rhythm, but within moments, horn flourishes, keyboard passages and Reid's own distinctively plucked notes elevate it above the 'street noise'.

Blu-Lu-Lup, as the name suggests, is a whimsical track, with an 'old-time market song' feel to it, as Reid doubles on bass and banjo. He also takes on well-known songs, including Jimmy Cliff's Wonderful World, Beautiful People, Al Green's Let's Stay Together (co-written by Green, Willie Mitchell and Al Jackson) and Marley's Lively Up Yourself, with similarly engaging results.
- Michael 'Jazzofonik' Edwards, “The Jamaican Observer”


Discography

Rifle Road is the first solo debut album for Rohan Reid although he has played on many albums some of which are included on these links:

http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.asp?z=y&SAT=1&CTR=199622&SRT=S&SIG=Y&QSRCH=A

and

http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=ROHAN|REID&sql=11:fvfixq9gldje~T4

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Bio

Say the name, Rohan Reid, and almost everyone in Jamaica knows his life story…....

...the third of seven children, born and raised in Kingston, Rohan was encouraged to start learning bass at the tender age of 6. His father had him pick up the guitar to teach him a “few chords” to play along in church. Little did he and his wife know that this youngster would, in a short amount of time, learn and master both bass and guitar.


Everyone was astonished at his progress and would soon start asking his parents could he accompany them. Although his Mother reluctantly allowed Rohan to start traveling the world at such a young age she knew his talent was a gift from above.

At age 10, Rohan was on the road touring internationally with one of Jamaica’s biggest record selling Gospel Groups, Grace Thrillers. After 5 wonderful years of this union, he moved on to become a member of Insights. It was during this time he began to develop his musical arranging skills under music director, Denis Hayes.

In 1985 Rohan, along with Patrick Kitson and Henry Morrison formed Change, a new driving force in Jamaica’s Contemporary Gospel arena. The group fused gospel, jazz and reggae, revolutionizing a “new” sound. Change became the first and only Gospel aggregation to perform on the world’s largest reggae festival, Reggae Sun splash and was also featured in the Billy Graham Global Mission 1994, shown to over 300 countries worldwide via satellite.

Good news traveled fast and Change became the first local group to be signed to an international record label, Freedom Records (a division of Malaco Records). Rohan’s role as musical director, bassist, composer, producer, writer and vocalist helped to create many of the uplifting hit songs performed by the group.

Rohan, now known as one of the most accomplished bassist in the Caribbean, was highly requested and more than ready to take his talent abroad to the USA.

Beanie Man, Big Mountain, Dennis Brown, Dianna King, Eric Darius, Irene Cara, Jimmy Cliff, Jessie Dixon, Leon Patillo, Maxi Priest, Najee, Sisaundra, Wayne Wonder….these are only a few of the Grammy Award winning and Billboard charting artist that have experienced the amazing passion Rohan brings to his craft.

With two recent #1 Billboard projects to his credit, soon, the world will come to know the soul of a man who’s fingers works his instrument into a passionate fever…..ladies and gentlemen, Jamaica’s own treasure, Mr. Rohan Reid.

RESPECT!