Heineken Small Stage stirs up Jazz

Noel Thompson, Gleaner Writer

The Heineken Small Stage was the scene of a musical furnace as talented entertainers stirred up heat at the 15th staging of the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival.

Professionals and semi-professionals travelled from the nook and cranny of Jamaica and North America to showcase their talent at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium on Thursday night.

Canada-born Melissa Hill was making her maiden solo appearance at the festival, and she wasted no time sharing her original jazz and reggae material with the audience. "I deem it a privilege being on the festival," she said.

"I came from Vancouver and had the privilege of being on the jazz festival. I wrote all these originals post-Jazz last year.

Jamaica, one of those she wrote in that period was rendered in a groovy reggae feel, as she skilfully played the keyboard.

Jamaica tells of how she was anticipating seeing the sunshine on the island.

Hill gave the thumbs up to the Montego Bay-based band, Scotch, which backed her performance, for learning all her songs just hours before they hit stage.

Selections

A number from the jazz icon, Myles Davis came next with saxophonist Fitzroy featuring prominently with that selection.

At minutes after 10 p.m., the musical maestro Dennis Rushton demonstrated real talent on the keyboards.

If you're a fan of heavy metal music then you would have loved Gibby's Dub Metal Band out of Clarendon.

Lead singer Lebert Morrison rearranged Beres Hammond's Tempted to Touch. "Rock with me tonight" was how he introduced his next selection.

"I never know say a Jamaican band could play rock so good," remarked a member of the audience.

"We enjoyed ourselves and the people liked it too. I've been playing rock for the last 20 years, but the momentum had died down in Jamaica for a while. We are on the rebuilding path," said Morrison.

The young and energetic New Yorker Tara Harrison described herself in one of her songs as a rude 'gyal' from New York.

"This is my first time at Jazz. It was amazing. I'm an R&B artiste who mixes a little bit of everything, wherever my inspiration comes from," she told The Sunday Gleaner.

Alecia Keys' Empire State of Mind, Gotta Have It and Home Alone were among her renditions.

"The festival is a nice mix of art, creativity and entertainment. I worked hard to get on this show," she said.