Don D. Junior: Musical Hero

I've only got one track credited to Vin "Don D. Junior" Gordon in my 60-some reggae CD collection. That song is a Phil Pratt-produced, rock-steady instrumental called "Dirty Dozen."
Although his name appears only once in my collection, his music appears on (rough but probably close estimate) two-thirds of the disks.
That's because by the end of the 1960s, Vin Gordon was *THE* preeminent, active TROMBONIST in Jamaica.
Gordon's name keeps popping up in "People Funny Boy," the Lee "Scratch" Perry biography I have been reading. I realized Gordon had made a profound impact on Jamaican music, so I decided to teach myself a quick course in "Jamaica's great trombone players."
Don Drummond was Jamaica's -- and perhaps the world's -- greatest trombone player. He co-founded the Skatalites, wrote phenomenal songs such as "Eastern Standard Time" but died too young, age 20 in a mental hospital following a murder conviction.
Rico Rodriguez filled in for Drummond on occasion during the ska era, but moved to London in the early 1960s and eventually played with 2 Tone bands such as the Specials.
Gordon filled the void in the Jamaican music scene following the departures of Drummond and Rodriguez. He didn't just "fill in," though. He played so well the other musicians started calling him "Don D. Junior."
The Soul Vendors, Sound Dimension, the Upsetters and the Aggrovators -- name a reggae session band and you can be assured Gordon is the man playing trombone.
Gordon is one of my musical heroes.