Groundation

Groundation is an American roots reggae band with jazz and dub influences, from Sonoma County in Northern California. It is named for Rastafarian ceremony of Grounation.

History

Created in 1998 by Harrison Stafford, Groundation began on the campus of Sonoma State University's Jazz Program. Harrison formed the initial group by calling in bassist Ryan Newman, keyboardist Marcus Urani, and drummer Jason Bodlovitch, who were fellow students under the Jazz Performance department. Between 1999 and 2001, Harrison Stafford taught the first course on the history of reggae music at the university. In 1999, Stafford teamed up with Kris Dilbeck to found Young Tree Records and release Groundation's debut album Young Tree. "Groundation" comes from the Rasta term "Grounation".

Grounation Day is an important Rastafarian holy day celebrated April 21, which commemorates Haile Selassie's first visit to Jamaica in 1966. Grounation Day is second in importance to Coronation Day, which is celebrated November 2, in honor Haile Selassie's Coronation in 1930.

In 1999, while in Jamaica, Harrison met the legendary engineer Jim Fox, who was involved with the production of many of RAS Records’ most iconic...

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