New York State Assemblyman Eric Stevenson presented a proclamation to Jamaican saxophonist Cedric Im Brooks for his outstanding contribution to Jamaica’s musical heritage. Paulette Keise accepted the proclamation on behalf of her ailing brother on Thursday June 16, 2011 at 1 pm at a ceremony at the New York State Assembly Chambers in Albany, New York.

“In an effort to ensure the legacy of Brooks’ work continues in light of his current condition, I am researching whatever opportunities exist to establish an archive in Jamaica that would showcase his musical contributions over the course of his career as a world renowned artist” Keise said.

Brooks who was admitted as a patient at Bronx Lebanon Hospital in NY in February 2010 in an unconscious state, has had a slow recovery and remains in a semi-comatose state at Silvercrest Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center in Queens.

His involvement in the development of Jamaican music spans over 50 years, during which time he contributed to many of Jamaica’s best known artists including The Wailers, The Heptones and Burning Spear. Early in his career he was a regular studio musician for Clement Coxsone Dodd’s Studio One label, playing with fellow jazz musicians Ernest Ranglin, Jackie Mittoo, Roland Alphonso, and Vin Gordon. Their various Studio One backed tracks have been versioned repeatedly and form the very backbone of the island’s musical heritage.