** The New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble

GET THIS!

(Moon Ska)

When ska first reared its head in early-'60s Jamaica, it was defined by the sound of American soul and jazz mixing with Caribbean rhythms. The New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble harks back to that era on Get This!, which brings together instrumental originals and ska-style reworkings of classic tunes by Duke Ellington, Horace Silver, and Aretha Franklin.

The New Yorkers' jazz leanings are manifest in the arrangements: most of the tunes open with the entire Ensemble playing the "head," followed by solo excursions by individual members of the group. Not that this is anything new in ska -- ska originators the Skatalites, for example, have been improvising since the '60s, as has Jamaican veteran guitarist Ernest Ranglin. This group, whose line-up features current (though not founding) members of the Toasters and the Skatalites, don't come close to matching the swinging big-band complexity of the Skatalites or the engaging improvisations of a virtuoso like Ranglin. Still, Get This works fine as a fun, danceable reminder of what ska was all about back in its early days.

-- Michael Endelman