Count Ossie

The Profile

Count Ossie (Oswald Williams) was a Jamaican master drummer and bandleader who fused Rastafarian nyabinghi/Burru drumming with Jamaican popular music. He led The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari and was pivotal to early ska via the Folkes Brothers’ Oh Carolina. Landmark albums include Grounation and Tales of Mozambique. He was active from the 1940s until his death in 1976.

Leader of The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari; central to bringing Rastafarian/nyabinghi drumming into Jamaican popular consciousness; featured on the Folkes Brothers’ Oh Carolina; collaborated with saxophonist Cedric “Im” Brooks; associated with Kingston’s Wareika Hills sessions.

A passionate salute to Count Ossie’s foundational role in bringing Rastafarian and Burru/nyabinghi drumming into Jamaican popular music. The review spotlights Tales of Mozambique and nods to the monumental Grounation. It connects early ska via Oh Carolina and highlights the spiritual-jazz currents with Cedric “Im” Brooks. Overall: reverent, ecstatic, and historically rooted.