Jimmy Cliff

Amid the summer rock blowouts and barbecue contests, Kansas City has been able to make a steady tradition of its Reggae World Music Fest. In this, the festival’s 11th year, the organizers have scored a coup in bringing Jimmy Cliff to a local stage. Touring in support of his first album in five years, Cliff is a 30-year veteran whose legend is so strong that it wasn’t even slightly tarnished by his appearance in the 1986 film Club Paradise. Cliff emerged with a role in The Harder They Come in 1973, and his contribution to that soundtrack remains one of reggae’s four or five tuffest achievements. Having helped contrive the American perception of reggae as the original gangsta sound, a smooth island funk that accompanied scenes of political unrest and bloodshed, Cliff is called the Reggae Ambassador. He titled his new disc The Humanitarian as a sign of his genteel influence on global music and charity. Whether playing saint or sinner, though, Cliff is reggae’s best living singer, and he lends this year’s festival some serious clout.