b. Emmanuel Rodriguez, 17 October 1934, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies. With the exception of Don Drummond, Rico aka Reco aka El Reco, was undoubtedly the most gifted trombonist working in the early years of Jamaican music. In the 40s he attended the famous Catholic Alpha Boys School, where, by the age of 10, he had learned to play the trombone under the strict tutelage of the nuns, though he had originally wanted to play the saxophone. In the early 50s he began appearing at and winning local talent contests. He became a Rasta and formed a close musical association with master Rasta drummer Count Ossie at his encampment at Wareika Hill, to the east of Kingston. Rodriguez's first recording session was for Coxsone Dodd, playing on the Jiving Juniors' "Over The River" and Theophilius Beckford 's seminal "Easy Snapping", and his own 'Stew Peas And Cornflakes'. He went on to work on literally hundreds of sessions for Dodd and most of the top producers of the day, including Duke Reid ("Let George Do It"), Leslie Kong, Vincent Chin (Randy's, for whom he cut "Rico Special") and Prince Buster, who released a few sides credited to Rico himself, such as "Luke Lane Shuffle", "August 1962", "This Day", "Blues From The Hills", and the amazing "Soul Of Africa". In an interview with Carl Gayle for Black Music magazine in 1977, Rodriguez claimed that some records, issued after he moved to Britain but recorded years earlier ('Let George Do It', 'Salt Lane Shuffle') and credited to his successor, Don Drummond, were really by him. In 1966 while resident in the UK, Rodriguez joined Buster when the latter toured the country, and was enlisted to play on "Barrister Pardon", the follow-up to the infamous "Judge Dread", during recording sessions in London.

Rodriguez left Jamaica in 1961 and settled in the UK, where he continued recording as a session musician for artists such as Laurel Aitken, Georgie Fame, Joe 'Brixton Cat' Mansano and others, and also in his own right with many singles, including the popular "The Bullet", and a number of albums released on various UK reggae labels throughout the 60s. In March 1964 he experienced a taste of pop chart success with a reworking of Jimmy Cliff 's "King Of Kings" as Ezz Reco And The Launchers, with Boysie Grant on vocals. The record entered the chart one week before Millie 's 'My Boy Lollipop' and spent four weeks in the lower reaches of the UK Top 50, but follow-ups "Little Girl" and "Please Come Back" failed to sell in any quantity and the band folded. He spent the early 70s in the doldrums, rarely recording, but passing the time by playing live with the Undivided, a band made up of expatriate Jamaican musicians. In 1976 he returned to Jamaica to record the well-received Man From Wareika, utilizing many of the key Jamaican session musicians of the day, including Sly And Robbie. With the arrival of 2-Tone in the early 80s Rodriguez enjoyed great success playing on stage and on record with the Specials, on whose label his next album, That Man Is Forward, was released. This was followed by Jama Rico a year later. Since a protracted stay in Jamaica, where he spent eight years living once more in Wareika, Rodriguez has returned to London and regularly appears on stage with double bassist Gary Crosby's Jazz Jamaica.