Cedric "Im" Brooks, The Light Of Saba

𝘼 𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙟𝙖𝙯𝙯, 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙚𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙘 𝙄𝙢 𝘽𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙊𝙛 𝙎𝙖𝙗𝙖 𝙙𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙟𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙘𝙖’𝙨 1970𝙨 𝙚𝙧𝙖.

Across nineteen largely instrumental tracks, the record brings together ska, hard bop, mento, Afrobeat, highlife, dub and roots reggae, all grounded by traditional grounation drumming. The arrangements are led by Brooks’ saxophone alongside Calvin Cameron’s trombone, with additional textures from flute and percussion shaping a warm, organic sound that moves fluidly between jazz improvisation and Rastafarian rhythmic structures.

Key moments include “Lambs Bread Collie” and its dub counterpart “Collie Version”, the Fela Kuti-inspired “Sabasi”, a laid-back interpretation of “Song For My Father”, and reworks of roots standards like “Satta Massa Gana”. Blending spiritual intensity with loose, communal musicianship, the album captures a distinctive meeting point between Caribbean roots music and jazz exploration.