ONE of Michael Rose’s earliest musical memories is of his parents listening to ska in the early 1960s. Though fans identify him with Black Uhuru and roots-reggae, seeing the popularity of ‘Jamaican jazz’ around the world made him appreciate the sound even more.

After one year of production, Ska Ska Ska, Rose’s first ska album, was released on August 30 by Miamibased independent company, InnerCat Records. Everybody Gwan Ska is the 11-song set’s first release.

Ska Ska Ska is produced by Dario Amarado, a Venezuelan musician who played all instruments on the album. Rose said Amarado had expressed interest in working with him for some time; he finally agreed last year, but insisted ska was the way to go.

“Mi jus’ feel sey is a big move fi me, ska did big inna it day an’ can big again. It big inna other places like Europe an’ Japan,” he told Jamaica Observer’s Splash.

Rose’s new album was released less than one year after his previous effort, The Healing of The Nation, which featured the roots-reggae feel that has made him famous. He says a dearth of Jamaican ska bands inspired a change of direction.

“When mi check it, di music gone from Jamaica totally. Di time right fi it find it rightful place,” Rose stated. He is not concerned this new lease on life will alienate a fan base still big on his Black Uhuru and solo work.

“Dancehall different now, di youth dem a listen African music, hip hop, everything. A man will smoke him spliff an’ rock to dis,” he said.

Rose, 62, is the second high-profile Jamaican artiste in recent years to take a crack at ska which has pockets of support throughout Europe, Japan, and on the United States East and West coasts.

Richie Stephens has recorded an album (Internationally) with the Ska Nation Band from Italy, with whom he has also toured.

As a boy in the Waterhouse community of Kingston, Rose recalled his parents listening to ska giants, The Skatalites, and rocking to the beat of Jamaican Ska, a novelty song by Byron Lee and The Dragonaires that triggered a national dance craze.

Ska was superseded by rocksteady, then roots-reggae, which exploded in the 1970s. The latter’s militant tones and its embrace of Rastafari appealed to Rose who began recording in the mid-1970s for producer Winston “Niney” Holness.

After joining them in 1977, he gained international acclaim with Black Uhuru on the strength of songs like Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Bull In The Pen, and Happiness, as well as Anthem, the album that won the first Grammy Award for Best Reggae Recording (later Best Reggae Album) in 1985.

With Ska Ska Ska out, Rose and InnerCat plan to release music videos and tour in support of the album. Just recording it was a fulfilling experience, says Rose.

“Is a joy fi know sey my parents used to dance to dis music, an’ now mi a sing it. Is jus’ a joy.”