November 24, 1998

Roland Alphonso passed away

On Thursday evening (November 19), Roland Alphonso, saxophonist for The Skatalites, died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

The great saxophonist had suffered a seizure onstage while performing with the Skatalites at the Key Club in West Hollywood on November 2, and was taken to the hospital. He was expected a complete recovery but he had slipped into a coma on November 17, and passed away on November 19.

He was 67.

Regrettably, we have lost three ska idol in this year. In May, the original Skatalites member Tommy McCook passed away. In March, the British ska-pop star Judge Dread passed away after collapsing onstage.