TAs hard as they come

>> >> Ska makes a stand at the Jazz Fest

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

If ska's third wave has crashed, you wouldn't know it from the amazing line-up of top-shelf ska acts playing every night of the Fest this year. Better yet, a lot of of it is free, at the smokin' Du Maurier outdoor stage.

Montreal's own Stomp Records contribute several acts, including Winnipeg's JFK and the Conspirators on July 5 and 6 and Gangster Politics on July 1 and 2. This is basically the last we'll see of the Gangsters, as they drift off into other projects, and they promise their beloved visual themes (hope you're not planning to rent any giant banana costumes those days). The Stomp All-Stars make a return, rounding up players from various Stomp bands (plus a pair of Gruesomes!) for July 9, the last day of the Fest. Stomp's flagship band, the Kingpins, join the simply incredible Slackers at Metropolis on Saturday, July 8--a show worth dropping some bucks for, and perhaps even your pants.

Aside from Stomp's contributions, there's also Boston's longstanding Bim Skala Bim on Thursday and Friday, June 29 and 30. July 3 and 4, you can catch L.A.'s unbelievable Yeska. They, like the New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble (culled from the ranks of the Toasters, the Scofflaws and the legendary Skatalites), need not fear disappointing diehard jazz fans: Cali ska-core this stuff is not. NYSJE play on July 7 and 8, by the way.

A band not part of the ska series at the Du Maurier stage but worthy of mention is L.A.'s los Mocosos. Ska's only part of their low-ridin' Mexicali mix-up; swing, punk, salsa and rap also figure into the party overdrive. Unfortunately, their slot on Saturday, July 8 (free, General Motors stage, 9 p.m.), conflicts with the Slackers/Kingpins double-header at Metropolis, but they're back again on Sunday night at the same spot, immediately following the Stomp All-Stars' set at their stage.

The real pay-off for ska fans, though, is on Thursday, July 6. Jimmy Cliff--I repeat, Jimmy Cliff, whose soundtrack disc for the film The Harder They Come remains the single most essential reggae recording--will uplift the souls of one and all who make it to Metropolis that night. Oh, hey, bonus: Montreal's own Jah Cutta gets the night rolling (and you know what's meant by rolling, eh). :