Ely Combo - Shaft Ely Combo

Eliseo Pech was a saxophonist born into a family from Yucatán, Mexico, with deep musical roots. He later settled in Quintana Roo, in southern Mexico, close to the border with Belize. From there came the strong influence of ska and reggae.

In the early 1970s, he formed the band Ely Combo, which was soon joined by Belizean singer Anthony Jones. Together they recorded only a couple of albums, packed with covers of reggae and funk hits. This single brings together two of those tracks: Isaac Hayes' classic Shaft, the worldwide hit from 1971, and the dancefloor favorite Express Yourself, originally recorded by Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band.

Ely Combo was one of the first Mexican bands to incorporate Jamaican rhythms into its repertoire, a remarkable anomaly within the Latin American music scene of the 1970s.