A good fusion jazz experience

GARY CARDINEZ

HUNDREDS of people turned up at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), some with chairs in hand, to be a part of Fusion The Jazz Experience, a concert put on by the Ministry of Community Development Culture and The Arts on Holy Thursday.

The forecourt of the Aldwyn Roberts (Lord Kitchener) Auditorium and steps of the building were crowded as music lovers flowed into the Frederick Street venue.

The concert featured the National Steel Symphony Orchestra (NSSO) under the baton of Aqua Leith and featuring master pannist Len "Boogsie" Sharpe, elan parle, vocalists Kay Alleyne and Quinton Neckles, trumpeter Rellon Brown, members of the National Theatre Arts Company and Extempo champ Myron B.

The concert started with the NSSO playing Be Careful. Blue Bossa featuring trumpeter Rellon Brown and pannists Kareem Brown and Arthur Peters came after. This was followed by Neckles who sang Writing on the Wall arranged by Dike Samai. Songbird Kay Alleyne then thrilled the audience with her version of Anita Baker’s Body and Soul which was also arranged by Samai.

Sharpe was up next and he simply walked behind a tenor G Pan and started the theme from Exodus by Henry Mancini to the delight of his audience. He was then joined by NSSO and they performed several of his original including My New Life.

Enter elan parle and together with the NSSO Farmer Nappy’s Hooking Meh arranged by Michael Low Chew Tung was ringing out with Derron Ellies on tenor.

Sharpe and Carlon Harewood along with Tony Paul (sax) were featured in Chant. Another one of Boogsie's original, Samba Alley, was played before the band kicked off Santimanitay for The Incredible Myron B to perform extempo. He had members of the audience choose the topics for him and he did quite a good job.

Alleyne and Neckles returned to the stage to perform a duet and they nailed A Change Is Going to Come as arranged by Samai. During their performance, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi made his way to the front to sit next to Culture Minister Nyan Gadsby-Dolly who was enjoying the concert.

Al-Rawi showed no interest in the magnificent performance going on mere feet away from him by the two singers, he simply came to collect something from his colleague and then left.

After a lusty round of applause, Alleyne and Neckles continued with Feeling Good arranged by Amrit Samaroo.

Elan parle paid tribute to Ken "Professor" Philmore with an absolutely entertaining version of his song Graduation. They continued with Kes The Band’s classic Savannah Grass and the audience singing.

The NSSO closed with a Caribbean mix of several calypso and soca songs.

The members of the Theatre Arts company acted as master of ceremonies. Fusion the Jazz Experience was a very good show except that the ministry did not see it fit to do a video recording of the proceedings for their archives. Granted several staff members did use their cell phones to record segments of the show.