Al Jarreau delivers a classic performance at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium during the 'Barbados Jazz Festival' in Barbados.Winston Sill, Freelance Writer
THE 10TH anniversary of Barbados Jazz festival went well last week, despite a few below par performances by some stars and a stinging criticism of local musicians.
Speaking to local and international journalists at a press conference held at the Grand Barbados Hotel last Sunday, festival organiser Gilbert Rowe charged that local musicians 'ain't as good'.
"They think they are good, because we lie to them. They come and play and two people clap and the newspapers write 'How Great Thou Art'. So they walk about with a big swell head believing they are good. The musicians are merely suffering from delusions of grandeur," he said.
Rowe suggested "...it is time somebody tells them to go and come again. I love to pay a Caribbean musician what I pay Luther Vandross. I would love that day to come, because when that day comes, I would have known that we have someone that has made it big."
Star performers on the week-long jazz festival were Al Jarreau, Patti LaBelle, Spyro Gyra, Marcus Miller and Steve Cole. Regina Belle and Ce Ce Winans gave good performances, but were not all their best.
The third night of the festival, Wednesday, January 15, was held at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium, with a small crowd in attendance, but these who did turn up were treated to an awesome performance by the seven-time Grammy Award winner Al Jarreau.
The show opened with Jamaica's guitarist Ernest Ranglin, who gave a good account of himself much to the delight of the crowd. He was particularly delightful in the creative spin he and his band put to Jamaican folk and contemporary melodies. Then came the maestro Al Jarreau, who reeled off songs from his old albums like Tomorrow Today. He also did some songs from his latest album, All I Got, with one cut, Jacaranda, seeming set to be another hit for him. The song was inspired by the beautiful plants in South Africa.
Jarreau's set was a classic performances, with each song segueing into the following one, creating a smooth set complete with all the vocal sonic variations which are typical of Al Jarreau.
Patti LaBelle was in concert on Thursday at the same venue, this time a packed gymnasium. She was great, apart from her usual theatrics of complaining of being menopausal, kicking off her shoes and the mirror thing. She reeled off a string of hit songs like On My Own, You Are My Friend, You Saved My Life, I Love You Porgy, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, If Only You Knew How Much I Love and her closing number, The Lord's Prayer.
Saturday and Sunday activities moved to the scenic Farley Hill For 'Jazz On The Hill'. Saturday's show saw saxophonists Steve Cole and Spyro Gyra's Jay Beckenstein blowing up a storm, especially the latter, much to the liking of the large crowd.
Regina Belle closed the day's activities with some old and new songs.
Marcus Miller, bass guitarist extraordinaire, took the stage after the Cuban group Septeto Havanero on Sunday and gave what some people saw as the best performance from a now vocal group, with song as So What, Lonnie's Lament and Tutu.
Ce Ce Winans seemed to have got the attention of the gospel fans and Christians, as they moved closer to the stage when she came on, and during her act, she proclaimed that God had sent her to Barbados for A Mission. Winans sung songs like He's So Good, Alabaster Box and He's A Wonder to bring the curtain down on the Barbados Jazz Festival 2003.
Miller's performance left such an impression on the fans that at the end of the festival and while leaving Farley Hill, one exuberant patron exclaimed: "He shoulda played all day."
Trip courtesy of the Barbados Tourism Authority and British West Indies Airways (BWIA)
