OSWALD ‘Ossie’ Hibbert, the respected keyboard player, producer, arranger and sound engineer, died in New York City on July 1.

He was 62 years old.

Singer/producer Derrick Harriott and producer Rodguel ‘Blackbeard’ Sinclair confirmed their close friend’s passing.

The Jamaica Observer learned that Hibbert, along with Chris Chin of VP Records, went to the Grooving in the Park concert at Roy Wilkinson Park in Brooklyn, New York, last Sunday.

The show featured Beres Hammond, Jimmy Cliff and Gladys Knight. He is said to have suffered a fatal heart attack while returning to his Long Island home.

“He is someone with whom I kept in touch. It’s a great loss,” said Sinclair. “Is him play the keyboard on Dennis Brown’s No Man Is An Island for Studio One. He also played on Gregory Isaac’s first album, Mr Isaacs,” Sinclair recounted.

Harriott said Hibbert “loved the recording business”.

Hibbert played keyboards on Harriott’s hit song Born to Love You.

During the 1970s, Hibbert worked as keyboardist for several bands including The Professionals, The Aggrovators, and The Revolutionaries. He played on dozens of albums by artistes such as Johnny Clarke, Gregory Isaacs, Jimmy London, Delroy Wilson, and Linval Thompson.

He also recorded two solo albums Crueshal Dub (1976) and Satisfaction in Dub (1978).

In the 1970s he worked as a producer at the hot Channel One studio where the Revolutionaries were the house band.

His album productions include Gregory Isaacs’

Gregory Meets Ronnie Davis, Creation by Freddie McKay, and Dillinger’s Cocaine In My Brain.

He launched Ossie Hibbert Productions in the 1980s.