Kenoly By Jenni Campbell, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
CLAD IN a loose-fitting yellow dress, barefooted and armed with a 'golden' saxophone and an attitude of praise, Angela Christie blew to the glory of God.
The Reggae Sumfest-size crowd which crammed the Catherine Hall, Montego Bay venue Saturday night, nodded, waved and danced to the instrumental music played by the young woman. She played popular songs including her version of the Lord's Prayer. And the jazz that was not just off-beat, but engaging.
For 20 minutes, the forceful, clean notes of the saxophone supported by sound track had the audience spellbound. Without doubt, Christie, is a master player and her Christian commitment only serves to sweeten the sound of her music.
It is remarkable that Christie was the only performer on Saturday night to get a well-deserved encore and even after that the crowd wanted more, but time had no mercy.
Christie, a Jamaican by birth, attended Holy Rosary primary school before migrating to the United States where she learnt her craft.
But the crowd had come to see Papa San and he was dapperly dressed in an off-white suit and ready. The ace deejay, now under the 'anointing' was at his exemplary best and he pushed beyond himself and delivered a set which boasted a poetic quality that was second to none. His pieces are lyrically sound, well structured and powerful.
Of course, the energetic deejay that Papa San is, coupled with his rhyming lyrics found favour with the large audience and soon many were jumping, prancing and shouting, It was definitely not the place for the conservative.
A sleek Carlene Davis, supported by the Rock Dancers, performed well. Like others before her, the old Negro Spirituals continue to move the new generation Christians. Mount Zion Children Walk Holy, Fire Fire and a few others clinging together in an exciting medley created a healthy sing-along atmosphere with the audience.
Her set was spiced with songs like Holy Holy, This Island Needs Jesus and others from her album. Sandra Brooks , who is sounding more and more like a Black America singer, also made an impact. By the end of her performance she had explored a variety of musical genres from calypso to mento all in gospel and was entirely out of breath by the time she got to I Found The Answer.
Lester Lewis and his wife Singing Rose added their indelible mark to the show.
The Kenoly Brothers, who were performing in Jamaica for the first time, showed off their ability to harmonise Jesus We Love You, in a cappella style, before launching into a hip hop/rap session, to the delight of the youngsters in the audience.
The brothers again appeared towards the end of the show with their father Ron Kenoly who was billed as the star performer. But the show had been running at fever pitch from the word 'go' with no enough seats to accommodate the crowd.
Along with a 100-member choir, Kenoly tried to keep the now tired audience rocking. He was joined on stage by Lester Lewis for the Winner Man a song that has become a local anthem for the two.
By then it was close to midnight and some people were already drifting towards the exit, so Kenoly faced a difficult task, but bravely stood the test with his worship- song style climaxing the event.
