During a break in a Tokyo recording session, Rico Rodriguez puts down his trombone to lark around on the roof with the teenage members of Oreskaband, the all-girl ska band he's been working with. That, at 72 years old, he is now old enough to be their grandfather doesn't even faze him.
"It was good to play among young people. You can feel the vibes from dem," he says, with a strong Jamaican accent. "The energy deh give to the music is great."
Rico is visiting Japan to record with a number of Japanese ska and reggae bands, from Oreskaband and the relatively new Mice Teeth to the well-established Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. He'll also be playing a string of gigs. The results of the recording sessions will be released on a Japan-only album, "Japa-Rico" -- the title a play on his 1982 album for the 2-Tone Records label, "Jama-Rico," which paired him with other Jamaican musicians.