Late last week, some of Jamaica ’s most storied musicians — including former Wailers guitarist Earl “Chinna” Smith and DJ U Brown — were gathered at Anchor, a recording studio in Kingston. But their session, backing Harper Simon, Paul’s son, was cut short. “The hurricane was hitting the next day and the airports were closing,” says producer Wayne Jobson, who was overseeing the work. Jobson then received a text from saxophonist Dean Fraser, who was also at the session: “This is going to be bad. We just have to wait and see. Then get busy.”

Once it made landfall on Tuesday, Hurricane Melissa , the Category 5 storm that barreled through Jamaica, tore roofs from houses, flooded hospitals and streets, and left as much as 80 percent of the country without power. The storm impacted every asp

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