Stephen “Cat” Coore; cellist, guitarist, composer, arranger, revolutionary, co-founder of the seminal Jamaican reggae band Third World.
He handed away January 18, (2026) on the age of 69. He was a real power of nature.
I’m seeing so many INCREDIBLE remembrances of this man. I’d prefer to share with you a few of my experiences with him and the band. The primary time I heard Third World I used to be blown away as a result of, coming from a jazz background, I by no means knew you can combine extra complicated harmonies/melodies, within the reggae idiom. (Cat’s mom was a extremely revered Trinidadian music instructor and broadcaster who performed a pivotal function in her son’s musical basis. She studied at McGill College and the Royal School of Music, later changing into a famend music educator in Jamaica who launched Cat to the cello at a younger age.
His father was the previous Deputy Prime Minister of Jamaica.)
These first 3 albums, “Third World,” “96 Levels within the Shade” and “Journey to Addis” utterly flipped my understanding of reggae and deepened my love for the music exponentially. That acoustic guitar solo on 96 Levels knocked me out – the tone, the spaciousness, the VIBE. After which to find what that track was about: The Morant Bay Rise up which was a large turning level in Jamaica’s path in direction of shaking off the British colonial yoke. To at the present time, I play that track in my Music and Lifetime of Bob Marley class when this a part of Jamaican historical past is the lecture matter. And lyrically, just like the Marley track One Love, the refrain is so catchy – “96 levels within the shade”, you’d assume it might be about some idyllic seaside spot with an umbrella drink in your hand however then you definately get hit exhausting with one thing a lot deeper.
The summer time of 2018 I used to be tenting on the outer Cape Cod, Ma (USA). It’s a fantastic a part of the world and there’s a small indoor/out of doors efficiency venue referred to as the “Payomet.” It’s no more than 500 capability and I noticed Third World. It’s fairly an expertise to see such a monumental band in such an intimate area. It’s up shut and private in each means together with the viewers being about ½ Jamaican as most of the summer season staff on the market are from the Island. After the present I wandered out again and was in a position to catch Cat for greater than only a selfie and fast greeting. I requested him concerning the Smile Jamaica live performance (12/5/76), two days after the assassination try on Bob Marley. To a crowd of about 80,000 Marley determined to look despite the fact that the gunmen might simply have completed the job as safety in these days was not so safe. All of Marley’s band, who had scattered all through Kingston, hiding for his or her lives, made it to the stage that evening, apart from bassie Familyman Barrett. It’s identified to many who Cat crammed in however I needed to get his tackle it, direct. He stated that each musician at the moment knew just about each Marley tune. Cat knew all of the bass traces. He stated the vibe on that stage and all through Nationwide Hero’s park was ELECTRIC, and a second the place he needed to dig deep and discover braveness due to absolutely the actuality that gunmen might have sprayed the stage with bullets. About ½ via the set Familyman did present up and Cat, after all, relinquished the bass chair. Are you able to think about having that have?
Right here some footage from the present on the Payomet, together with Cat speaking a little bit of South African historical past and, with Trump (1) in workplace telling us that we’re gonna want some FREEDOM FIGHTERS SOON! Additionally, in the midst of their rocking reggae set the broke ranks with the riddim, Cat pulled out his cello and so they play a preferred Aria, that’s proper, from an OPERA. (I can’t discover which one…please somebody inform me what this piece is!). Ordinarily if a groove band like this pulls out such a tune, it’s just for a quick second, maybe as an introduction, then they launch again into the riddim, however no, they play the WHOLE THING. It slayed me and the group! After the present I HAD to speak to the lead singer to seek out out what that was all about. Seems AJ Brown (the singer) is absolutely classically educated and he informed me that was his unique purpose as a musician, to be a pure opera singer. (RIP the band’s very long time singer, Bunny Ruggs who handed away in in 2014.
Quick ahead to the summer time of 2022 and whereas I used to be on tour with Groundation, enjoying large festivals, we have been criss crossing phases with Third World. I can’t keep in mind the place this pageant was however that they had two phases facet by facet and whereas one band was enjoying the opposite was organising. Third World was performing whereas we’re like 20 ft away organising on the opposite stage. After they performed “96 Levels within the Shade” they launched into “Now That We’ve Discovered Love” and our bassie, Isiah Palmer begins dancing his butt off with the most important most infectious smile that nobody can resist and everybody, together with the stage crew, stops every part and begins dancing. The blokes in Third World, mid efficiency start to look to their proper and see the facet stage dance celebration happening and are hilariously caught between checking us out after which looking to the 20,000 folks within the viewers (who couldn’t see the facet stage occurring happening.) I want I had some footage of that!
A number of days after Cat’s passing I used to be speaking to my pal and colleague Selwyn Brown, keyboardist and founding member of Metal Pulse who knew Cat and his household nicely. Selwyn was reminiscing concerning the first time he and the very younger Metal Pulse band noticed Third World. He spoke of how they have been concurrently pissed off that this band (Third World) had enacted a sound (reggae with jazz and R&B influences) that they have been engaged on however on the identical time tremendously impressed by the sound of Third World. Little doubt the sound of Metal Pulse was closely affect by Third World!
That’s my little bit of historical past with Cat Coore. He was a repeatedly heat and enthusiastic human being who gave the impression to be in love with what he was doing. A deep Optimistic Vibration. Could you Relaxation in Energy, Relaxation in Music, Relaxation in Love Cat Coore!
