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Papa San brought Sunday night at the 'Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival' to a thrilling, rousing end. - Patrick Campbell/Freelance Photographer PAPA SAN brought the 'Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival' to a thrilling, praise-filled end on Sunday night. Sunday featured the gospel segment of the four day festival.
For three nights the sounds of reggae, jazz, country, soul and R&B had stomped their way across the green of the Cinnamon Hill golf course, Rose Hall, St. James. On Sunday, many of the rhythms returned, but they had lost their secular messages. It was time for the Christian soldiers to shout and sing praise.
The low turnout to the gospel segment was in stark contrast to the thousands who had thronged on the previous nights, making the vastness of the venue quite evident.
CLEARER AND LOUDER
Additionally, with most of the sponsors stalls missing, and the screens to facilitate the audience's viewing, gospel night seemed to be a slimmed down version of the rest of the festival. The only aspect gospel night seemed to have over the previous nights was the sound. On Sunday, it was clearer and louder.
The audience and the performers were not to be daunted by the low turnout. The night featured mostly local acts with Melba Moore as the sole American artiste. Starting with the Emmanuel Concert Choir, the first act to the stage, most of the audience was on their feet and would remain there for the night.
The three Jamaican top acts who performed, Junior Tucker, Carlene Davis and Papa San, made it clear that rather than a performance, they were conducting church.
PASSIONATE AND ENERGETIC
"Is it alright if we have some church in tonight? Do we have to wait until we go into a building?" asked Tucker of the responsive audience. Tucker was the first major act for the evening. He delivered a passionate energetic set that varied from danceable songs to prayerful ones.
The rhythm was constantly changing. The only thing that remained the same was the message. Tucker constantly reminded the audience that it was not a concert, but a church service, and encouraged them to testify with him.
When he got to his reggae version of Ancient of Days he encouraged them to forget about their neighbours and sing lustily. "Yuh know mi nuh business yuh nuh. Mi ave church anywhere mi go." he said. "It's not about the person next to you. It's about the one above you!"
When Carlene Davis came to the stage, though the texture of her performance was very different, she was also leading the audience in worship. She came to the stage quoting Exodus chapter nine, verse 16, before launching into His Eye Is On The Sparrow.
With the Church on the Rock dancers interestingly dramatising several of her songs, and the powerful voices of the quartet Forgiven as her back-up singers, Davis gave a moving, powerful performance which was a testament to her passion for her subject and her years in entertainment.
Called the queen of gospel by the evening's host, 'Che' Cowan, her performance showed her more than worthy of the title. Her performance was replete with scripture which she either quoted or paraphrased to introduce the relevance of the songs.
She rendered songs from her own repertoire such as By Any Means Necessary and Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now with songs such as Days of Elijah. She ended with an exultant medley of choruses punctuated by the Hallelujah chorus.
DEVIL TONGUE-TIED
When Papa San got to the stage he quickly got into the business of praise. "Let we hail up di man weh die for my sins," he said to the audience. Known for speedy deejaying since his early days as a performer, Papa San threw lyrics at a speed which could leave the devil tongue-tied.
He had the audience jumping, cavorting and singing along as though there were no tomorrow, or maybe simply at the joyous thought of a tomorrow.
Whether he invited the audience to join him in the Blood Well or to Step Pon Di Enemy they were with him all the way. "Music is just to elevate and strengthen and to comfort in a time of need," he told the audience before starting Smile Again.
Sunday night had featured a smaller audience and shorter set, but it was a energetic and as high in quality as the rest of the festival.
