A.J. Brown entertains the audience at Jazz On The Green at the Jamaica House lawns on Sunday. Backing him are Frankie Campbell (second right) and Dean Fraser (right). - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
The audience couldn't be said to have been rocking and rolling at the Jamaica House lawn on Sunday evening. After all, the occasion was billed as Jazz on the Green.
But they were certainly rollicking. And the cause of their merriment and movements - in chairs and on their feet; in groups, in pairs and singly - was not jazz. It was ska.
It was being provided, at the height of the dancing, by the Fab 5 Aggregation. The group's manager and lead guitarist, Frankie Campbell, justified his playing of that particular Jamaican 1960s music by the fact that there are only one or two bands playing ska in Jamaica now. Yet worldwide, he said, there are some 2,000 ska bands.
Needed more ska
Campbell thought the island needed more ska and he announced that Fab 5 would be helping out. "We're doing a ska revival at the Ocho Rios Jazz Festival in June," he announced.
Judging from the audience response Sunday, the performance will be popular. Discerning musicians like Myrna Hague and Marjorie Whylie, as well as numerous others at the concert, were 'flinging foot' as, with the help of guest saxophonist Dean Fraser, the Fab 5 band played ska.
London Town
They gave us six of seven tunes originally made popular by the Skatallites - tunes like Eastern Standard Time and Dick Tracy - as well as a relatively new one, London Town, composed by Fab 5 member Sydney Thorpe.
Two other guests appearing with the band were Canadian composer and pianist Jason Wilson (apparently a Scotsman, he appeared in a plaid kilt) and A.J. Brown. The former sang It's Where I Want To Be, a song he said he recorded with Fab 5 in Toronto; the latter sang his very popular My Father, My God, his own composition.
The Fab 5 set, which began at 8:45 p.m. and ended an hour later, was the final one for the concert, an annual fund-raising event mounted by the Rotary Club of Spanish Town. The club is trying to raise $13 million to build a multi-skill complex and cultural centre on Monk Street to help the at-risk youth of the area.
Computer lab established
Club President Horace Marsh and club director and YMCA administrator Annmarie Johnson told The Gleaner that with the help of the GraceKennedy company and the German and Canadian governments, a computer lab has already been established.
Anthropological presentation
The evening's entertainment began with an unusual 30-minute anthropological presentation by final year music students from the Edna Manley College. It comprised the playing of a taped interview with jazz legend Charlie Parker speaking on music and music education, and live performances by the students.
The group, eight singers and a band of about the same size, played instrumental pieces and sang. Three crowd-pleasing soloists were Racquel Hinds, Sarina Constantine and Camille Folkes. Lecturer Michael 'Ibo' Cooper, who is in charge of the students' programme, should have been happy with the presentation and the audience's enthusiastic response to it.
Up next were Chris McDonald (keyboard and vocals) and Charmaine Limonius (guitar and vocals) whose delightfully delivered set included Change The World, Can't You Feel It All Over, Misty Blue and Take 5.
No official name
MC Fae Ellington, with her usual energy and wit, next introduced a band with "an amalgamation of talent" - a phrase, it appeared later, indicating that the group had no official name. The musicians, all well known, were Rupert Bent (guitar), Othneil Lewis (keyboard), Desi Jones (drums) and Dale Haslam (bass).
After they played a couple of scintillating jazz pieces, singer Pam Hall was introduced and she promptly christened the group Desi Jones and the Name Brand Band. The crowd seemed to approve.
Hall, in a purple top and grey slacks, showed that her longevity (30 years) in show business was due to tremendous talent. Her voice was strong, flexible and euphonious as, with engaging patter in between numbers, she sang I Wanna Be With You, Walking on Sand, Feeling Like Someone In Love, You Runnin' Away, Reasons and My Baby Just Cares For Me.
Final set
The final set before the intermission was given by the Jason Wilson Band from Toronto, a group that has been nominated for a reggae category award in Canada's Juno awards. Assisted by Desi Jones on drums, the group's up tempo sound showed why it got the nomination.
The members were individually excellent, with one of them, saxophonist Pewee Ellis (a guest for the show) being a former musical director for James Brown's band. He composed one of the items, The Chicken.
Jamaica's quick-fingered genius on the guitar, Ernie Ranglin, was a special guest of the group. His playing was clean, clear and full of complexity, showing why he remains one of the best guitarists in the world.
Music was not the only joy to be had at the event. The 12 tents on the periphery of the seating area which supplied great quantities of food and drink were well patronised.
Jason Wilson from Toronto leads his band on keyboard at Jazz on the Green.