By Mel Cooke, Freelance WriterWESTERN BUREAU:
THE JAMAICA Association of Vintage Artistes and Affiliates (JAVAA) celebrated the first anniversary of its weekly 'JAVAA Jammin' to a packed Jamaican Vibes headquarters on Friday night.
It was an opportunity to celebrate the depth of the organisation, with a saxophonist, guitarist, percussionist and steel pan player among the slew of singers who performed at the Haining Road, New Kingston, restaurant, under the sombre observation of a full moon. Planned or not, the show also celebrated the contribution of women, as the line-up featured many females.
It was instructive that the organisation's chairman, Frankie Campbell, was on bass with the band, Fabulous Five Incorporated, with another executive member, Junior Sinclair, sharing hosting duties with Patrick Lafayette of KOOL FM.
The fish was sizzling, the crowd in the main mature, with a healthy sprinkling of young 'uns, the mood relaxed and the heady feeling of Olympic success thick in the air, so it was no surprise that the stadium style 'boom' was tossed into Bunny's rendition of the national anthem.
He ended with a flourish to cheers.
ONE SONG
There was a lot to cheer about on a night when almost all the performers were restricted to one song ("don't care who you are", as Frankie Campbell put it), Bunny being the only person of the night to get two shots at the stage, as he returned with his singing partner Scully.
The only deejay of the night, History Man, did the honours of an extensive lyrical rundown of JAVAA, living up to his name by keeping the oral record, while Fab Five's drummer and singer, Grub Cooper, sang 'happy birthday' for the organisation as the celebratory cake was cut.
The solo saxophone came from 'Deadly Headly' Bennett, who was in a Dancing Mood, while Michael Pinnock hoisted his pans on stage to tap out A Love I Can Feel. Dwight Pinkney beamed as he plucked out How Could I Live on the guitar and Bongo Herman plucked instrument after percussion instrument to back-up his drumming on Drifter.
Music and business made a good mix to start off the night on a bluesy note, though, as managing director of the Jamaica Observer, Mark Pritchett, strapped on his electric guitar and had it wailing, Fab Five in lock-step with the music, before asking the burning question "have you ever loved a woman/so hard it hurts you deep down inside?"
He followed with Carlos Santana's Black Magic Woman, to make him the first and only performer of the night to do two songs back to back.
TRADITIONAL HARMONY
The traditional harmony group formation, the trio, which gave rise to Bob Marley and Burning Spear, among others, was on display, with The Tidals, The Cymbals (Queen Majesty) and Carlton and the Shoes (Kiss Me Once), the Reggae Tones trimming it to a duo for I'm Not Giving Up.
Charmaine Lemonious has the kind of voice that deserves to be the first to welcome a newborn and the last to usher out someone who has lived a full life. She sat, guitar at the ready, called out the chord to the band and time stopped as she asked 'why Lord'.
Desmond Irie hit the spot with Hello Carol; Dudley Sibbles continued the Studio One tradition; Maurice Henry went deep for his R&B stylings; and Earl 'Heptone' Morgan informed that Pretty Looks Is Not All.
Ken Bob serenaded the Lovely Lady, before Dionne Hardy did it Alicia Keys style.
The smooth flow of well known and not quite that well known performers continued, with Carey Johnson 'bussing' the party with the introduction to his Correction Change chanting "this is the station where your music come first/coming on strong, strong strong".
Bunny and Scully did it rock and roll style with Feel So Good, Scully's falsetto coming through clear and he dropped serious legs for a man whose first recording was in 1953.
Angella Stewart brought "a love I can feel", Winston 'Rakk the Gadfly' Feanny teamed up with Dionne Hardy to Run Dem; Otis Gayle put his money where his heart is with Penny Lover and Dimario McDowell did it My Way, the applause rising before he was quite finished.
'ONE MORE'
The calls for 'one more' from Boris Gardiner after he finished I Wanna Wake Up With You were acknowledged, but discipline was kept as the show moved from baritone to the falsetto of Bunny Brown, the former lead singer of the Chosen Few finding 'love on a two-way street'.
Mary Isaacs brought the JAVAA anniversary show to a fitting end with Memories, before the disco took over for the dancing segment of what was, by then, morning.
