Ska bands?

[Drifta]

The Pietasters.

Great band. Definately has some rock/ and 60's soul really put into their music. They backed James brown a couple times beleive it or not!

 

[steelie_dude]

Katchafire are a good reggae band from new zealand with nice horn lines if your after horn lines. they also through in some kinda old school ska and some dub too

 

[rockwarnick]

FISHBONE!
its funny cause i was just sitting here listening to my ipod on shuffle and fishbone came on just as i came across this thread. I dont listen to ska but i really like fishbone. great performers, great bassist too! one of my most favorite songs, not just by them i mean in general, is "sunless saturday"

oo now beethoven is on...

 

[FretFree]

Skatalites, the slackers, hepcat, dave hilliyard and rocksteady 7, alton ellis, desmond dekkar.

Tokyo ska paradise ochrestra, new york ska jazz ensemble. all great bands. look at a lot of older jamacian ska/rocksteady. it is heavy jazz influenced, becuase thats where ska come sfrom.


definately check out erneest ranglin.

HUGE +1 to Hepcat! I was in a ska band before I knew what ska was. Cut my teeth on Hepcat. Scientific still has a place in my heart... great old-school sound, too!

 

[Drifta]

HUGE +1 to Hepcat! I was in a ska band before I knew what ska was. Cut my teeth on Hepcat. Scientific still has a place in my heart... great old-school sound, too!

yep and fyi Dave hilliyard who i mentioned was like the original sax player in hepcat, and then left for the slackers. So yeah theyre all good

 

[PilbaraBass]

I sat on the plane back from the States with the guitar tech from Reel Big Fish (he was headed to Brisbane to visit his GF).

Nice guy. I like the Fish, they're pretty cool how the Ska-ify some of the old classics. One cool one is their version of A-Ha's "Take on Me".

 

[powellmacaque]

Big D and the Kids Table's new "Strictly Rude" album is, while still influenced by 3rd wave ska/punk, very dub, reggae, ska, and jazz influenced.
Check out the semi-instrumental "She knows her way".

Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution (a side project involving members of Streetlight Manifesto) combine elements of classical, folk, rock, ska, and jazz in their recordings. Definitely give them a listen, I recommend "What a Wonderful Life".

Streetlight Manifesto, while fast paced and punk influenced, is influenced by so many genres that they could probably be their own genre.
Check out "A Moment of Silence"

One song by Catch 22 is very jazz influenced, almost bebop feeling, is "Walking Away".

Yes I know these are all 3rd-wave bands, but they are very easily obtainable, and they are jazz influenced, and abandon the "generic" ska/punk.

 

[Wissen]

If we're going back old school, I will always and forever put in a vote for the English Beat.

For a bunch of pissed off kids from Birmingham, they did ska/reggae with the best of them. And for a 50-year-old British guy, Dave Wakeling still puts on one HELLUVA show (Pittsburgh just this past February.)

For a specific album, they only had 3 before the breakup, but start with "Wha'ppen", then onto "I Just Can't Stop It". Save "Special Beat Service" for when you have a good understanding of their stuff. I started with it, and it almost ruined it for me. "Too 80s" came to mind until I listened to their other two albums and understood where they were coming from.

 

[Sahm]

FISHBONE!
its funny cause i was just sitting here listening to my ipod on shuffle and fishbone came on just as i came across this thread. I dont listen to ska but i really like fishbone. great performers, great bassist too! one of my most favorite songs, not just by them i mean in general, is "sunless saturday"

oo now beethoven is on...

Fishbone fans know, they're not ska or rock or funk, they're Nutmeg!

 

[Green Mind]

You should check out Defacto, they we're a project before the Mars Volta with Cedric on drums, Omar on bass and Iky Owens who played keys on for Sublime.

and I see no one has mentioned THE SPECIALS!!!

 

[whoatherechunk]

defacto is definitely not ska but they are deeply rooted with jazz and salsa, thus i would classify them as "dub". i hate slamming on genres so sorry haha. but yea, ikey owens did play with them and he also played in the Long Beach Dub All-Stars. they are definitely bands to check out and groove to!

 

[popinfresh]

I would never call The Cat Empire a ska band, but might be worth a look, they're new stuff is pretty so-so however.

No mention of Westbound Train yet?

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

Uhmm.....alot of the groups that have been mentioned in this thread play a style of ska that the original post was specifically not interested in...for intensely Jazz oriented ska, I think these records would definitely help:

The Skatalites- "Hi Bop Ska"
Ernest Ranglin- "Ska Wey Dat"
Jump With Joey- "Ska South of the Border"
Victor Rice- "America"
Rico Rodriguez- "That Man is Forward"
NY Ska Jazz Ensemble- "Mellow Mood"
Dave Hilyard and the Rocksteady Seven- "United Front"
Rotterdam Ska Jazz foundation- "Shake Your Foundation"
Pressure Cooker- "Burning Fence"

These records were written specifically to emphasize heavy instrumental composition work, showcasing intricate horn work, and melding Jazz forms with Ska's distinct rhythm...you can find Ska of all kinds, but if you want to listen to ska musicians tipping a big hat to Jazz, I think these artists have been the most successful...

I would add Toots and the Maytals who have been very successful and toured endlessly round the world - great live act!

 

[axisluminary]

mulatu astatqe - you can check out that ethiopiques vol 4 on amazon, and i think there is some stuff on vol 20 also. their sound was more jazz influenced, but if you looking for some jazz/ska, these should work.

 

[Clank]

THe Planet Smashers

 

[Ozonbass]

No mention of Westbound Train yet?

Great band...what a fun bunch to see live too. I really like that whole rock-steady thing they do!

 

[Sahm]

I would add Toots and the Maytals who have been very successful and toured endlessly round the world - great live act!

I worked stage crew for a Toots and the Maytals show a couple weeks back, and I have to say, they were pure reggae/ska, not a lick of jazz-style (which is what the OP was looking for). They may have some jazz-influenced stuff, I don't know, but they surely didn't play it that night!

They did do a reggae cover of John Denver's Country Roads which was supa-phat!

 

[Uncle Ernie]

Mix of Ska and Latin:

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs from Argentina, try their "Vasos Vacios" and "Rey Azucar" CDs
Maldita Vecindad from Mexico, try "El Circo"

 

[sasebastian]

+1 on the Slackers for the non-punk ska is awesome. Also check out the Heptones. Very cool, old school 60s ska. Can't wait to check out some of the bands you all mentioned I haven't heard yet.