Little Javaughn 'Genius' Bond sings 'Stand by Me' while playing the bass guitar at the BCIC's 40th anniversary celebration.-Winston Sill photoDaviot Kelly, Staff Reporter
THE BRITISH Caribbean Insurance Company (BCCI) celebrated 40 years in fine style at The Lounge at the University of the West Indies, Mona on Thursday night.
The setting was posh, even without the gold curtains that adorned the columns. Guests and employees were treated to a special evening and if this was for the 40th, then the 50th should be mindboggling.
Before the great performances that were to follow, everyone spent time mingling and looking at the displays set up by the company showing various moments in its history. However, it was at approximately 8 p.m. that the fun started. There were no weak performances and the only complaint can be that it was hard for persons seated at the back to see.
The L'Acadco drummers got things started by playing the National Anthem and then charmed the crowd with their piece Celebrations. Their agility, coupled with their choreographed movement had persons bouncing along.
However, it was the youngest performer of the night that got the 'real' applause. Nine-year-old Javaughn 'Genius' Bond literally made jaws drop. Backed by the Gumption Band, this little man cannot only sing, but plays the keyboards, drums and bass guitar. He did all four and the crowd could not get enough.
He sang 'We've got to live some life' before strumming away on the keyboard. Taking the drum set, Ken Boothe would have loved his rendition of Everything I Own before giving us Stand By Me after relieving the bass player of his instrument. The standing ovation he received was more than well-deserved.
Performing after Bond was a tough task but Abijah was up to the challenge. His was an energetic set, looking like Bob Marley from the high knee lifts to the way he held his head. After Live, an original song, he did excellent covers of The Harder They Come and War. That set the stage for him to unleash his ever-popular Revelation.
If you had to pay to get in, it would have been worth the money, for next up was none other than Dean Fraser. To say that he performed well would be a great disrespect. Fraser had the crowd enthralled from the second he smoothed 'I believe in you and me' to the majestic Redemption Song. On the latter, he seemed to coax the saxophone, ensuring that every note was heard. For his grand finale, he performed Paul Simon's Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes, giving a commendable effort with the voice as well.
After a break for BCIC to make donations to three health sector causes it was Ernie Smith's time to close the show. He turned back the clock, unleashing old hits such as Pitter Patter, Bend Down and the ever-popular Life Is Just For Living.
