Hohner Melodica Piano 26 Played by Augustus Pablo

This Hohner Melodica Piano 26, a type of free-reed mouth organ and a relative of the modern harmonica, was owned and played by Jamaican reggae and dub musician and producer Augustus Pablo (1954-1999). 

Invented in the 1959, the most distinctive feature of the melodica is its piano-like keyboard. This Hohner Piano 26 has 26 piano keys that cover a soprano range of just over two octaves starting with the B below middle C. The instrument produces both single notes and chords and has a sound similar to a single-reed harmonica. The player blows into the mouthpiece to activate the reeds controlled by keys depressed with the right hand.   

Debuting in 1969 with the song “Higgy Higgy,” Pablo was an important artist, producer, session musician and accomplished keyboard player. Known for popularizing the use of the melodica in reggae, he worked with many notable musicians and producers including King Tubby, Dillinger, Bob Marley and Freddie McKay among others. In 1976 he released the critically acclaimed album King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown, one of the most important examples of dub, a music genre he helped pioneer.