‘Chris Meredith was mi bredda,’ Squidley Cole says of late bassist

Christopher Meredith, one of reggae music’s most prominent bass players, passed away on Wednesday in Miami, Florida, his son Chrissano confirmed to The Gleaner. Meredith said that his 54-year-old father took ill on Father’s Day and had been hospitalised.

“It’s been a rough five weeks. My father was a beautiful soul with a heart of gold. Chris had an impact on everybody. Somebody said to me yesterday that Chris was one of one,” Chrissano said.

Up until the time of his death, Meredith was the bass player for Stephen Marley and had been in rehearsals with him for the current Babylon By Bus tour.

On Wednesday, Marley posted a picture of himself and the accomplished bassist on social media, along with a broken heart, a sad face and praying-hands emojis. Fans responded by offering their condolences.

Meredith, who was often called “one of the most unassuming bassists”, had worked with the likes of Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, Israel Vibration and Jimmy Cliff and Amy Winehouse. He worked with Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers and Stephen Marley for close to 30 years and has credits on numerous Grammy award-winning albums, including Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

Drummer, Squidley Cole, the son of veteran singer, Stranger Cole, called Meredith his brother and said that everybody had been praying and hoping he would pull through.

GOOD TIMES

“The two of we are the only child for our mothers, and we knew each from we were nine and 10. Chris a mi bredda. I took him and introduce him to my family, and it was all about music. There is so much great things about Chris; we need a day to talk about him. He has like 12 Grammies ... he and I produced Lauryn Hill’s big song Turn Your Lights Down Low, and we also produced a song on Stephen’s Grammy-winning album. We win Grammy with Ziggy, Jr Gong and Buju. Chris was the quiet one while I did the talking,” Cole said.

He is touring with Stephen Marley and admitted that he has been “weak” since hearing of Meredith’s passing on Wednesday. He reminisced on the good times they had throughout the years and vowed to “hol’ it for everybody”.

Singer Geoffrey Star, who honed his skills at Meredith’s studio from it was based in Hughenden, recalled that the musician gave him the opportunity to sing and eventually become his resident engineer. He hailed the bass player as a father figure and a close friend.

“I was around Chris from I was 17, and for 30 years, that love and respect have grown every day. I can clearly remember the day –long after I met him – that I told Chris that Ranchie McLean was my father. Chris cried. Then he told me that my father was the first person to put a bass in his hand, and he always wondered how he would repay Ranchie. He called up everybody and told them that Rich Kid, as I was known then, was Ranchie’s son,” Geoffrey Star told The Gleaner.

Meredith was also a producer for his production company Buss Out Studios.

According to his bio, Meredith was born in London to Jamaican parents and came to the island as a child. His love affair with music started while a student at Calabar High School and was a member of Chinna Smith’s High Times Players band. His early recording sessions were done at Channel One, where he backed artistes including Yellowman, Frankie Paul, and Israel Vibration.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com