Jacob “Killer” Miller / Ray I :: “Natty Christmas” - Top Ranking International
While the eggnog of eventful emptiness and crispy cookies relax momentarily on the cozy corner of a kitchen table somewhere quiet in the catchy catacombs of Kingston, Jamaica, sacred smoke dances from the steady fingertips of one of reggae’s most cold and calculated killers behind the mic, the late Jacob Matthias Miller, formerly known as Jacob “Killer” Miller. One half of the 1978 classic, “Natty Christmas,” and a total embodiment of the culture’s rich and poetically poignant atmosphere, Miller captured the iconically investigative side of his community’s effective efforts toward government, politics, freedom, and the ultimate connection to music manifestation. An element that transcends all the pain of the world and its ravaging reimbursements to most who pay the ultimate price with their lives, Miller was larger than life and set the twilight tone as far back as his humble beginnings with the intensely influential outfit Inner Circle, more commonly known as “The Bad Boys of Reggae,” with whom he sang as their frontman from the mid-1970s up until his devastating passing in late March 1980. The group was a major success during the “Miller years” with the band signing with major labels like Capital Records before locking in with a label that stood behind the country’s victorious vibe, Island Records, they toured all over the world and released a great deal of material before being forced into early retirement before their retro return in the mid-1980s.
“If reggae lost its soul when Marley died, it lost its heart when Miller died.”
Following an uncautious and exuberating career as a solo musician, Miller recorded an enormous body of work in his short yet sophisticatedly stellar stand in the thriving world of reggae and island music. Having released dozens of singles on various labels and imprints throughout the 1970s, it was his 1975 debut, “Tenement Yard,” that set him apart from everyone and everything on the scene while continuing to pave his unique and universally conscious way in the world of sound and tasteful technique. Pulling a fast one with 1978’s “Natty Christmas,” something unexpected and yet virtually obvious, Miller collaborated with the local cult figure and diverse DJ Ray I, Raymond Bygrave, to help bring to light the tasteful traditions of seasonal song and rhythmic reverberation. Collapsing tension with the tropical tones of their iconic island intensity, Miller and Bygrave steady the spear with atmospheric accuracy throughout the album’s seven tracks, with one in particular, “Deck The Halls,” a song Miller originally recorded in 1974 as a single, leaving listeners to swing and sway in the blissful breeze of a Caribbean Christmas miracle.
While calling on cats such as Bernard “Touter” of the Wailers and The Soul Syndicate, Robbie Shakespeare, formerly known for his occupation in The Revolutionaries, Sly Dunbar, and Inner Circle’s founding members and brothers Ian and Roger Lewis, the cosmic collective land in the legendary Channel One studio in Kingston, Jamaica, to capture the spirit of Christmas and the “Merry Jane” liberation in an all-out party as the decade nears its full completion. With numbers like “Natty No Santa Claus,” “On The Twelve Day Of Ismas,” and the album’s opener, “Wish You A Merry Christmas,” Miller and Bygrave effortlessly echo into the coastal caves a serenading yet comedic collection of holiday classics of poetic proportions, which has ultimately solidified the duo’s brotherly connection like that of the late Bob Marley. Having poetic proximity that is as legendary as they get, Miller enjoyed the simple essence of his community of coolness, where he played soccer and acted in films such as Theodoros Bafaloukos’ 1978 classic, “Rockers.” Still, it was always music that conquered the late musician’s soul in the end, and having left behind one of the most iconic and influential catalogs in Reggae music, it’s without a doubt that the only gift is sound, no matter the season.
