Desi Jones Quartet for jazz at F&B Downtown
Published:Thursday | September 7, 2023 | 12:08 AM
On Friday, respected jazz drummer Desi Jones will lead his Quartet into F&B Downtown Restaurant on Church Street in Kingston. The aggregation will feature the tasteful piano stylist Orville Hammond; Leon Duncan, a first-call upright bassist who displays a level of musicianship gained from years of experience in the European jazz circuit, and Ben Roseth, an American saxophonist whose outstanding credentials suggest this is a stellar group.
A look at the setlist confirmed this will be no cliché event but a weighty engagement with some of jazz’s classic repertoire.
Event presenter, Herbie Miller, said the F&B Downtown Restaurant has been the place to be for creatives interested in the arts, including jazz, in a conducive ambience.
“Over the past year, the restaurant has become a popular Friday evening after-work hangout ... in an artistically adorned room, where a keenly devoted audience, including creatives ... converge for live jazz,” Miller said.
Speaking to the importance of hosting the event downtown, Miller stated, “Before decades of neglect – for those of us who came of age in that environment – downtown venues were the creative nucleus for arts and entertainment. It was the place to be for everything from musical theatre [to] social clubs, dance halls, and live music.”
RECLAIMING IDENTITY
He indicated that based on past artistic achievements, the Ministry of Culture successfully lobbied the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to declare Kingston a Creative City. He added that with the Kingston Creative organisation’s initiative to revitalise the city and their support for live music, it’s about time that Kingston reclaims its position as the cultural Mecca that was its identity.
To extend the vision, the Desi Jones Quartet follows F&B’s house band, PON FYAH, led by the pianist arranger Ozou’ne Sundayah.
F&B’s manager Jessica Cargill explained how the evenings came to life.
“It all began when Herbie [Miller] convinced us at the restaurant that it was a perfect venue to host jazz evenings. We are moving forward by booking musicians wanting to play jazz, allowing for greater artistic expression and exposing different jazz musicians at this point,” Cargill said.
The Desi Jones Quartet will perform on Friday evening from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and 8 to 9 p.m. followed by an open jam session. There is no cover, but a music charge of $1,000 is collected at the door.