The spirit of 2 Tone lives on. Jerry Dammers will be back in London later this week playing ska and Sun Ra, but first came this stirring reminder of a golden era of Jamaican music, featuring some of those who will be joining Dammers on stage.

Soothsayers are a London band fascinated by both reggae and African music. Collaborators range from the Nigerian Keziah Jones to Jamaican veterans including Johnny Clarke, and now Cornell Campbell, with whom they released an album last year.

Led by trumpeter Robin Hopcraft and saxophonist Idris Rahman, they began with a brief set of their own, mixing Afrobeat and jazz with reggae and dub. There was some rousing instrumental work from the seven musicians, particularly on the sturdy Rico Rodriguez song Africa, with vocals provided by the two horn players. They were enthusiastic and effective, but lacked the charisma of a vocal star such as Campbell, who arrived, after a suitably lengthy build-up, looking like a Jamaican rocker in dark glasses and leather jacket. Once he started singing, though, it was hard to equate the image with the music. In the 60s and 70s he notched up a series of hits in Jamaica, often in the easygoing lovers-rock style that favours his sweet, clear tenor voice and easy falsetto.

That voice is still as distinctive as ever, as he showed in a non-stop set in which he segued between songs from the new album and old classics, with Soothsayers a driving backing band. He revived the old favourites, included The Gorgon and the melodic, lilting Queen of the Minstrels, but one of the best songs of the night was the energetic Nothing Can Stop Us, the title track from the new album. This collaboration deserves to continue.

• Cornell Campbell and members of Soothsayers are appearing with Jerry Dammers' Spatial AKA Orchestra at the Barbican, London (020-7638 8891) on 18 July.