Rohan Reid: From Kingston to Smooth Jazz
by Goin' Native Records, Label
Rohan Reid started playing bass at six years old in Kingston, Jamaica. By ten, he was touring internationally. That's not a typo — at an age when most kids are learning multiplication tables, Rohan was on the road with Grace Thrillers, one of Jamaica's biggest-selling gospel groups.
A Prodigy on the Road
The word "prodigy" gets thrown around a lot, but Rohan earned it. His natural command of the bass guitar was obvious from the start, and the Grace Thrillers gave him a platform to develop it in front of real audiences, night after night. By the time he moved on to perform with Insights, he was already a seasoned professional — still a teenager.
Change: Gospel Meets Reggae Meets Jazz
In 1985, Rohan co-founded Change with Patrick Kitson and Henry Morrison. The group did something nobody had done before: they fused gospel, jazz, and reggae into a sound that felt completely natural. Change became the first and only gospel group to perform at Reggae Sun Splash, the world's largest reggae festival, and was featured in the Billy Graham Global Mission in 1994.
That fusion — taking musical traditions that seem separate and finding the thread that connects them — would define Rohan's entire career.
The Bassist Everyone Calls
Rohan eventually became one of the most in-demand musicians in the Caribbean. The list of artists who've relied on his bass lines reads like a hall of fame: Beanie Man, Big Mountain, Dennis Brown, Dianna King, Jimmy Cliff, Maxi Priest, The Original Wailers, Eric Darius, Najee, and Wisin y Yandel.
Whether the session called for roots reggae, smooth jazz, Latin pop, or contemporary gospel, Rohan delivered. His ability to move between genres without losing his identity is what makes him extraordinary.
Rifle Road
In 2007, Rohan released his debut solo album Rifle Road on Goin' Native Records. Named after a street in Kingston, the album established Rohan as a solo artist with a distinctive voice — smooth jazz with a reggae heartbeat, Caribbean warmth with studio polish.
Rifle Road proved that Rohan wasn't just the best bassist in the room. He was a composer, arranger, and bandleader with a clear artistic vision.
Learn more about Rohan on his artist page.
