Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

Beres Hammond during his performance at Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest 2007 in Montego Bay. - File

Beres Hammond smiles a wry, wise smile when The Sunday Gleaner dares to refer to the event he has planned for Sunday, December 30, at the National Indoor Sports Complex, as a 'show'.

He may have heard it before, when the concept was being discussed and the search was on for a name.

Not really a show

"I said is not really a show I want to do. I want to something that if is that one moment in time I do it, it feel good. They just picked up on it and said that is a title that," he said.

"We not even waan call it a show. Is one of those moments, where I can't say next year I am going to do it," Hammond said. 'Beres come to the folks with level of orchestration the songs were given live."

And when he says 'orchestration' he does not mean coordination. He means a real orchestra. "I did start off the recordings with a whole heap of musicians in the studio; string section, big brass section and all them ting deh. Willie Lindo was the one who orchestrated all that," Hammond said. "We never really got the chance to reproduce all that vibe on-stage and it is something I really longed to do."

He named Cedric Brooks, Glen DaCosta and David Madden among the hornsmen in those early recording sessions at Aquarius in Half-Way Tree. And as he describes the demeanour of the classically trained musicians, acting out their upright carriage and quiet, disciplined stance, Beres Hammond becomes a delighted actor, eyes flashing in delight at the memory.

"We will have a full orchestra, 20-something piece. Most of them a fly from Harlem and we are going to be adding some of our local classical people to that. All that will be conducted by Peter Ashbourne," he said about the upcoming 'Moment'.

It will be a first for Beres Hammond locally, but it has been done before. "Me actually did perform with the orchestra abroad - the garden, Jersey and Florida. They were all beautiful moments, so I would like to do it yasso. Yasso a de bes place fe do it," Beres Hammond said.

Of course, the reggae root will not be left out, as "the band will be there. The band a play along with everything".

The Jamaican 'Moment' has been planned at a time when normally, Beres Hammond is taking a well-deserved rest, after his yearly schedule of two major tours and a trip into the eastern Caribbean islands, in addition to one-off appearances. Added to all that is his intense production work at his Harmony House studio.

"I figure that with how my schedule set up, most of the years that time of year, after the 15th I always choose not to go back on the road. So it is the best time from that perspective," he said.

"Me like Christmas at home," Beres Hammond said, smiling.

In terms of his schedule, December 30 will be an isolated 'Moment', as there are no performances slated for between now and then. "I just a try concentrate on this. Harmony House is a part of it and I am a part of Harmony House, as it is going to take a lot to put things in place," Hammond said.

Short performances

It will not be an isolated 'Moment' in terms of him singing, though, as Hammond says, "I'm going to have quite a few jobs, maybe half a dozen. But it won't be long performances. It is the folk I have worked with over the years. It is really from that group we choose a few folks from and quite a few I have done duets with."

"They come and do a two, three tunes and somewhere along the way, we buck up and sing we things," he said.

While not nailing down any names, Beres Hammond has several duets with Buju Banton (among them Who Sey (Big Man Don't Cry) and Pull It Up, as well as songs with Marcia Griffiths (Live On), Maxi Priest (How Can I Ease the Pain), Wyclef Jean (Dance For Me) and deejay Flourgon, among others.

The 'Moment' will be more than the blink of an eye, as it is slated to run from 8:00 p.m. to midnight, with a short intermission.

"People need to hear the songs how they should hear them. When a band plays them back on stage, it is not the same thing," he said.

"It is a hell of a difference," Hammond said, describing the experience when he first walked into a rehearsal room in New York and heard an orchestra playing One Step Ahead.

He knows, though, that it will not be just another day at the office, as "it is a hell of a challenge", what with the regimentation of conductor and music. Still, he said, "I don't mind it. I like it so."