The Library
Jook Joint Press
Jook Joint Press is my own imprint and the outlet that I’d always dreamt about when imagining myself as a professional writer. It was launched in 2015 with Simmer Down: Marley – Tosh - Livingston - a book about the early Wailers and 60s' Jamaica that's now on its second pressing, and provides a wealth of detail and insights that you won’t find in any other Marley book.
Since the majority of my writing has been for print, I started a series of anthologies in early 2020 called the Reggae Chronicles containing articles and interviews first published in specialist magazines throughout Europe, many of which appear in English for the first time. This is what renowned reggae DJ and radio presenter David Rodigan MBE had to say about the Reggae Chronicles.
"John Masouri is one of the world's foremost reggae music journalists. His deep knowledge and undiluted passion has enabled him to interview all the leading stars, many of whom are featured in his series Reggae Chronicles. John brings the music to life, and any fan of the genre will find these books a most revealing read."
The series was launched with Rebel Frequency: Jamaica's Reggae Revival – a compendium of features and interviews with leading contemporary roots reggae artists such as Chronixx, Protoje, Damian Marley, Koffee, Kabaka Pyramid and Jah9. The 400+ pages are packed with personal testimonies about key releases, the artists’ struggles for recognition and the birth of a movement that's now extended far beyond Jamaica itself.
The second in the Reggae Chronicles series was The Marley Files, again published in early 2020. This anthology includes in-depth interviews with Damian, Stephen and Ziggy Marley, as well as 40th Anniversary exclusives; film, exhibition and book reviews, and controversial, insider accounts of what really happened after Bob Marley's death and during those turbulent, early years of the Marley Estate.
The third and fourth editions of Reggae Chronicles are scheduled to be published in Spring 2021, and will give prominence to seventies' legends such as Toots, Marley, Peter Tosh and Burning Spear, among others.
THE MARLEY FILES
ONE FOUNDATION
ISBN 978-0-9933759-5-8
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SIMMER DOWN
MARLEY - TOSH - LIVINGSTON
ISBN 978-0-9933759-8-9
Reviews for Simmer Down, from Amazon.com.
"A gripping story of the little known trials and tribulations of the early history of The Wailers. This book was a real eye opener for me and along with the other books in the trilogy it gives the well deserved balance to the story of Bunny, Peter and Bob that is long over due. How the author manages to piece together so many tales from so many people and brings it all together in one detailed book is amazing. A great book!"
* * * * * * * * * *
"A well written and authoritative account of the early Wailers. A great companion piece to the excellent Wailing Blues and a thoroughly gripping read from start to finish. The authors deep knowledge of his subject is apparent throughout but you never get the sense that any of the anecdotes or side stories are there for the sake of showing off this fact. Instead - the narrative contains enough information about the many colourful characters in this fascinating story to entertain and to also give a real sense of the time and place in history. Instead of just giving us lists of important dates and meetings, the tale of how one of the greatest bands in history emerged and was shaped from within and without is allowed to breathe. Part music history, part biography and part social history, I found myself not only riveted but also genuinely shocked by being reminded how much I didn't know about the context of the creation of music I have loved for many years. Having read Simmer Down it has been a joy to listen again to the early tunes with new found awareness of how they fit in the context of Jamaican culture, the civil rights movement and the changing world of the sixties and seventies."