Sylvan Morris, the ace studio engineer who worked on a number of classic reggae albums, died June 17 at age 74.

He was reportedly found dead at his St Andrew home.

Contacted for comment yesterday by the Jamaica Observer, his daughter, Gale, was distraught and unable to speak.

Morris came from an elite class of Jamaican studio engineers that also includes Osbourne “King Tubby” Ruddock, Syd Bucknor, Errol Thompson, Errol Brown, Ernest Hoo Kim, and Karl Pitterson.

He began his career in the early 1960s working at West Indies Records Limited as a protégé of Australian Graham Goodall. After a stint at the Treasure Isle studio of producer Duke Reid, Morris moved to the rival Studio One and producer Clement “Sir Coxsone” Dodd.

By the early 1970s, he was at Harry J Records. This is noted as where his best work was done with proprietor Harry Johnson.

Morris was engineer on The Wailers’ groundbreaking Catch A Fire album, as well as Funky Kingston by Toots And The Maytals, Blackheart Man by Bunny Wailer, Third World’s 96 Degrees in The Shade, and the instrumental Negril by American jazz guitarist Eric Gale.

Musician/engineer Stephen Stewart, who went to Harry J studios in Kingston as a teenage understudy to Morris, hailed his mentor as “a trendsetter in terms of quality”.

He added that Morris was an innovative engineer in dub mixing and “had his own style of miking the drums”.

Willie Stewart, former drummer for Third World, also paid tribute to Morris.

“I cannot forget when Third World was recording the 96 Degrees album at Harry J’s studio. Sylvan was the engineer and he gave me so much encouragement and support, and his ears and skill in engineering and music were so professional and mystic at the same time. He could hear the finished product before it was mixed,” said Stewart.

Morris worked at Dynamic Sounds after leaving Harry J.

After losing his sight, he gradually withdrew from the music business.