By Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
Othello Molineaux on the steelpan at the forefront and Maurice Gordon (right) entertain at 'Jazz In The Gardens' at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston on Sunday night. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE TWO segments of 'Jazz in The Garden', held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston on Sunday night, were as different yet similar as a swimming pool and sea water.
While having the same foundation and being enjoyed to the hilt by the music lovers comfortably seated before the gazebo overlooking the pool at the hotel, they were of different consistencies.
The first section, featuring Harold Butler on piano, Maurice Gordon on guitar, Dale Haslam on bass and Desi Jones on drums, joined after a few numbers by steelpan master Othello Molineaux, offered sheer musical artistry, seldom accompanied by voice.
The second half, which showcased Ibo Cooper and many, many (and many) friends, fully utilised voice in male solo, female solo and exquisite female ensemble forms, with music which spanned reggae to R&B. George Bush also came in for a little stick in this segment, where the flow of 'friends' created waves of good music and undercurrents of various genres.
In the end, Ibo Cooper choreographed his friends into a jam session on Now That We've Found Love, after which he invited all of the night's performers on-stage and 'pool' and 'sea' met in a buoyant whole.
The evening's chaperone, Michael Anthony Cuffe, set the tone for a comfortable evening when he invited everyone to turn to the person beside them, smile and say hello. The light breeze which ruffled the manicured shrubbery on either side of the gazebo where the musicians were set up, causing the white pepper lights to sway, picked up a bit over the course of the show, which ended at 10:00 p.m. With the imposing bulk of the hotel cutting a swathe in the night sky and forming a backdrop, the audience, which occupied roughly half of the chairs provided, were in for a visual as well as an aural treat.
The Maurice Gordon-led quartet was up first and, as was the case at Redbones the Blues Café the previous Wednesday, most attention was focused on Harold Butler. With both feet tapping, the right faster than the left, the pianist got going early, soloing on the first number to the audience's delight. Desi Jones' drums separated themselves from the rest of the instruments as he played a series of solo patterns, each more complicated than the previous one, as the audience expressed its delight. Gordon put lots of body - literally and figuratively - into his solo, lifting his left leg and baying 'Yeah!' to the stars before the quartet finished with a bang.
Irie Mood, from Gordon's album of the same name, followed, which led into Butler's composition Sereta. At one point the breeze blew Butler's music sheets on to his hands as he played and, without missing a beat, he used his left hand to remove them and place them on the floor.
Othello Molineaux thanked the Pegasus for the setting, expressing his excitement at getting to play with Harold Butler. He said that he had travelled all over the world with Desi Jones and, when the band got into the music, the chemistry was evident. With the lights directed at the stage settling to green, Molineaux led the way, his hands dancing over and into his instrument, which swayed slightly on its stand.
As he displayed incredible dexterity, Molineaux jumped about three inches off the ground after each cascade of notes. With Butler taking over, the pan master observed him keenly, at one point saying something to Gordon and the two smiling contentedly.
A 'reggaerised' version of In A Sentimental Mood rocked the house; for Hannibal's Return Haslam moved up beside Gordon and the two took almost identical stances as they jammed together. Jammin' hit the spot, with Molineaux and Gordon chanting a refrain which included 'Jah Jah children must unite' at intervals.
Not even a smidgen of feedback could spoil the interchange between Butler and Molineaux on the quartet's number, on which Molineaux's hands danced a merry tattoo deep in his instrument.
Ibo Cooper's angels, six young ladies dressed all in black and seated demurely in high-backed chairs between the two keyboards set up on stage, were heavenly on Try Jah Love, substituting 'to my love' for the title refrain. After introducing Mark Brown on drums and Ryan Thomas on bass, both of whom are final year students at the Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts, Cooper said that in the presentation he was hoping to see - and show - the future of music.
It would appear to be on a very good path, as Montero Solomon, with the angels proving lift with a 'ta-da-da-da-dap' sang To Be Loved and the briefest touch of Ain't No Sunshine (When She's Gone. The visually impaired Simone Thomas was wonderful on Something Inside So Strong. The angels tipped their voices to Marley on Turn Your Lights Down Low, Kadi-Ann Dixon was delightful on You're Gonna Love Me and Ebony carried an entire orchard in her voice on Erykah Badu's Apple Tree.
The music and the friends, including a rotating cast of musicians, continued, with Ibo Cooper overseeing it all like a proud and fussy first-time papa, George Bush getting a nudge with Marvin Gaye's What's Going On.
After the angels rose for the final jam and the music and swaying had stopped, Ibo Cooper invited everyone back on-stage.
"Now this is why when you send me e-mail you can't get through. Me have too much friend," Cooper joked.
