FOR 45 years, trombonist Ronald “Nambo” Robinson stood in the background supporting high-profile artistes who basked in the limelight.

On Sunday, it was his time in the spotlight. Robinson’s contribution to reggae as a musician and mentor, as well as his commitment to family, was remembered during a thanksgiving service at Masjid Al Salaam mosque in St Andrew.

A devout Muslim, he died on January 25 at age 67.

Saxophonist Dean Fraser, who knew Robinson for 48 years, told the Jamaica Observer that he “lost his ‘right hand’. Nothing that I achieve was done without Nambo.”

Fraser first met Robinson in Jones Town in 1968 while they were part of the National Volunteers Organisation run by musician Alfred “Babe” O’Brien.

Together, they played on countless sessions that produced songs such as Bob Marley’s Ambush In The Night andWake Up And Live; Dennis Brown’s Love Has Found Its Way; International Herb by Culture and the Lauryn Hill mega-seller That Thing.

Booking agent and road manager Copeland Forbes went on many tours with Robinson. He said reggae has lost one of its great servants.

“The most important thing he was a great humanitarian; Nambo never thought about the money. The emphasis was always on culture and music,” said Forbes.

Raised in East Kingston, Robinson was inspired by the music of Don Drummond and the legendary Skatalites band. His talent was nurtured in bands like the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari and Light Of Saba, which were led by father figures Count Ossie and Cedric Brooks.

Robinson also became a mentor to a number of young musicians, including the EarthKry Band.

“For a youth who lose him father at age four, Nambo was the closest thing to a father to me,” said EarthKry keyboardist Phillip McFarlane. “Some of the things I learned from Nambo, I didn’t learn at Edna (Manley College).”

Robinson’s nephew, Derek Senior, son Ronald Jnr, and longtime friends Claudette Kemp and Dr Dennis Howard also addressed the service which was attended by many of his colleagues.

The attendees included Clive Hunt, Sly Dunbar, Nadine Sutherland, Freddie McGregor, Leroy Brown, Herbie Miller, Bobby Digital, Garfield “Sampalue” Phillips, Jerome Hamilton, Tony Rebel, Roy Francis, Lloyd Parks, Earl “Chinna” Smith, Sangie Davis, Robbie Lyn, Eugene Grey, Mikey Bennett, Handel Tucker, David Madden, Tyrone Downie, Gussie Clarke, Lebert “Gibby” Morrison, Junior Lincoln, Paul “Wrong Move” Crossdale, Maurice Gordon, Paul “Computer Paul” Henton, Winston ‘Wee Pow’ Powell, Marcia Griffiths, Bongo Herman, Frankie Campbell, Desi Young, Christopher Birch, Mikey Fletcher, Chronixx, Wayne Armond, Winston “Allah” Lloyd and Ken Boothe.

Interment followed in a family plot in St Mary.

– Howard Campbell