Byron Lee was last month given Jamaica's fourth highest honour

Information Minister Olivia Grange says Byron Lee died of cancer at the University Hospital of the West Indies on Tuesday.

She said she was saddened by his passing.

"Jamaica has lost a loved and treasured icon of our cultural fabric whose larger-than-life talent pioneered Jamaican music to the four corners of the world," a statement from the opposition Peoples National Party said.

Hear Karen Madden's report on the death of Byron Lee

Mr Lee helped introduce Jamaican music to an international audience and founded one of the island's first ska bands has died.

The musician founded the band Byron Lee and the Dragonaires band in 1956 at age 20 and recorded several ska and calypso songs, including "Tiny Winey."

Carnival

The band soon signed with the West Indies Recording Limited label owned by future Prime Minister Edward Seaga.

Mr Lee bought the label in 1964 and his Kingston studio would later attract musicians including The Rolling Stones, Roberta Flack and Eric Clapton.

His passion for soca music is also credited with inspiring the Jamaica carnival in 1990.

Last month, Lee was conferred with the Order of Jamaica (OJ) - the country's fourth highest national honour.

Tributes came from beyond the world of music and politicians also joined in to praise Lee's contribution to spreading Caribbean music.

"There can be no doubt that Byron Lee played a major role in carrying – not just Jamaican music, but the music of the Caribbean – to the world at large. In many ways he has been an ambassador of what is best in our region – talent, joie de vivre, generosity, and love of family," wrote the Director General of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Dr. Len Ishmael.

Mr Lee is survived by his wife and six children.