Patrons could not get enough of Douglas Redon Quintet

PATRONS who packed Kaiso Blues Café on Sunday night went there looking for a jazz treat and that is exactly what they got.

Featuring Douglas “Dougie” Redon, from the moment the Douglas Redon Quintet began its first set patrons got into the music.

With Redon on double second pans, Richard Joseph on drums, Russell Durity on bass, Chantal Esdelle on keyboard and Tamba Gwinde on percussions, the quintet immediately got feet tapping, heads bobbing and bodies shifting left and right on chairs to Redon's compositions One For Silver and Uptown Groove.

The treatment of Winston “Shadow” Bailey’s Obeah next, was particularly interesting, as was Redon’s Welcome to Phase II.

The Quintet closed the first set with Incompatibilidade De Gênios, from the pen of Brazilian singer-songwriter João Bosco.

The jazz ensemble began the second set with the sweet version of Baron’s (Timothy Watkins) Melosian Rhapsody, and followed that with Sweet like Sugar and Those Dancing Days, two more Redon compositions.

Redon then stepped away from his pans and invited his friend Len “Boogsie” Sharpe to take over while he went on bass to play the Mort Garson composition Our Day Will Come, made popular by American R&B group Ruby & the Romantics, and more recently by Amy Winehouse. The audience loved it.

As Boogsie exited the stage and with Redon back on his pans, he introduced his new number 2019 DKC, and led the band into singing the refrain Drugs! Killing! and Corruption! That caught the audience's attention and soon enough they started signing along.

But it was the execution of Black Orpheus, the theme song of the 1959 romantic tragedy film made in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus, that had all eyes glued to the stage.

The audience was mesmerised by the skilful playing of both pan and bass by Redon. At the end of the song patrons gave him a standing ovation.

However, his saying his next song, Osibisa’s Music For Gong Gong was going to be the final song for the night was met with: “Na! Yuh mad or what!”

Redon laughed then launched into the song, but gave the audience a lagniappe folk song Santimanitay and Samba de Orfeu.

People left the café with broad smiles on their faces, from sheer enjoyment of the show.