June 20, 2022
Ernie Ranglin struts to 90
Jamaican master guitarist and composer Ernest “Ernie” Ranglin celebrated his 90th birthday on Sunday with close friends at a brunch on Widcombe Drive in St Andrew.
Ranglin, who was invested with the Order of Jamaica in the 2021, has had a long career in music, starting as a teenager, and has an extensive discography covering ska, rocksteady, reggae, and jazz.
Among his friends and associates at Sunday’s celebration was veteran drummer and composer Grub Cooper who said that Ranglin is one of the greatest guitarists ever, and recalled that Ranglin was the man who encouraged him, when he was a student, to play music.
Here are highlights from the celebration.