Guitarist Jerome "Jah Jerry" Haynes, who died age 86 following a brief illness, was one of the founding members of the Skatalites, the premier set of session musicians in Jamaica during the late 1950s and early 1960s. As exponents of ska, the island's first indigenous form of semi-electric folk music, they were at the center of the development of the country's cultural identity before and after independence in 1962. Jerry's fast-paced chords, strummed discontinuously, the thumb on a battered acoustic to emphasize the second and fourth beat of each measure, defined its rhythm. Known as "Jah Jerry" due to his Rastafarianism, Jerry has spent much of his life in Jonestown, a West Kingston ghetto that borders Trench Town, from which many of Jamaica's best known artists emerged. In 1948, after trying to teach himself the rudiments of music on his father's guitar, he sought guidance from Ernest Ranglin, one of the most gifted players on the island. In the mid-1950s, he joined saxophonist Val Bennett's jazz band before playing in active groups on the hotel circuit frequented by tourists and upper-class Jamaicans. Eventually, he joined forces with drummer Arkland Parks "Drumbago" at a time when various Kingston entrepreneurs and sound-system staff began recording local actors. Jerry's first recording session, organized by Drumbago, Boysie's special Earl product, made especially for Earl Boysie the Monarch, a sound system based in West Street, Kingston, but the song was kept as a demonstration acetate and never released publicly. In 1959, partly through his connection with Drumbago, Jerry was connected with Prince Buster, a sound-system operator and aspiring singer about to break production records himself; At Buster's first recording session, he is said to have told Jerry to "shift gears", resulting in Jerry's rhythmic strumming mark, as heard on landmarks, such as Derrick Morgan's shaking a leg, Buster's own They got to to go and Folkes Brothers' Oh Carolina extremely popular. Producer Leslie Kong also made use of Jerry's talent on the early hits of Jimmy Cliff and Desmond Dekker (obituary, May 27, 2006). In 1961, Jerry was contracted exclusively to Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd, founder of the Studio One group of labels and recording function, although he continued illegal work for the other producers. He played on the first session organized by Vincent "Randy" Chin and on rivals such as Duke Reid, King Edwards the giant and Lyndon Pottinger. After the breakup of the Skatalites, he remained largely absent from the scene until 1981, when it was featured on trombonist Rico Rodriguez that the album man is gone. Two years later, the reformed Skatalites played at the Reggae Sunsplash festival in Jamaica; its led to US dates and the return of the Big Guns album (1984). Jerry left the Skatalites in 1986 to live in relative anonymity in Jonestown. Jah Jerry, OD, as a member of the Skatalites, was one of the first twelve recruits into the Jamaica Music Hall of Fame promoted by the Jamaica-era Artists and Affiliates Association in 2008. In 2010, he was honored by the Jamaican government on National Heroes Day and he was awarded the "Order of Distinction" at the King's House for his contribution to the development of Jamaican music. Jah Jerry was also a pioneering composer and musician who helped create Jamaica's first indigenous music. He was a legengary guitarist who added jazz chords to music and quickly and repeatedly moved these chords, which was unknown at the time. After the disbandment of the Skatalites, Jah Jerry had continued to work as a session player. He played for the album, Top Secret, with Tommy McCook and Supersonics in 1960. He recorded several hit songs in 1970, including Fred Locks' "Black Star liner", Cornell Campbell's "The Gorgon" and "Satta MassaGana" from the Abyssinians. When the original Skatalites reunited in 1980, minus Don Drummond (deceased 1969), Jah Jerry played with the band at the Reggae Sunsplash in Jamaica (1983) and England (1984). They recorded three albums: Return of the Big Guns, Stretching, and Constant Rolling. He also toured with the band in the US and performed in New York at the Village Gate and SOB. During his time in New York, Jah Jerry did session work for Sir Clement Dodd in his studio in Brooklyn. Dodd was a legendary producer and owner of Studio One in Jamaica. Jah Jerry retired in 2000, his career spanning more than 50 years covering various musical genres: Chin; Boggie / Shuffle; SKA; Rock Steady and Reggae. He recorded hundreds of songs during his musical tenure and worked with the cream of Jamaican producers and musicians. He has been a member of the following bands: Prince Buster's Allstars, Drumbago Allstars, Duke Reid Group, Beverly's Allstars, King Edwards, various Studio One outfits, and of course the great Skatalites. The Skatalites were instrumental players developing Ska Beat as well as Constant and Reggae Beat Rock. He played on a number of vintage and classic songs such as "Be Still", "Oh Carolina", "Simmer Down", "Bring Go Bring Come", "One Love", "Humpty Dumpty", "Wash, Wash "," Blazing Fire "," Man in the Street "," Eastern standard Time "," rough and hard "just to name a few. He played on the first time recording sessions for many Jamaican artists who became famous. These artists included Bob Marley & The Wailers, Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Dekker, Millie Smalls, Prince Buster, Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, Toots & the Maytals, Derrick Morgan, Justin Hinds and the dominoes, and Stranger Cole.