By Michael Reckord, Contributor 
Ernest Ranglin masterfully commands his guitar at the 'Jazz On The Green' concert, held at Milwood Avenue, Cherry Gardens, St. Andrew on Sunday. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
IF THE annual Jazz on the Green concert at Melwood Avenue, Cherry Gardens, was not in the past the premier jazz event in the Corporate Area it certainly became so on Sunday. That evening's line-up included some if the best jazz performers in the island as well as a leading regional practitioner.
The performance segment of the show kicked off with the smooth-talking M.C. Michael Anthony Cuffe commending the show's producers, The Rotary Club of Spanish Town, for presenting the great slate of musicians.
He also said, and this was later reiterated by club president Michael McNaughton, that the proceeds of the event were to go towards building a multi-skills training facility at the YMCA complex in Spanish Town.
The first band on stage comprised Rupert Bent on guitar, Dale Brown on bass, Deleon White on drums and Jon Williams on keyboards. After two up-tempo pieces featuring Bent and Williams respectively as lead instrumentalists, vocalist Sabrina Williams came on stage for a three-song set.
CHEERS AND APPLAUSE
With great power and feeling she sang We Can Work it Out, then an Ella Fitzgerald favourite of hers, The Man I love, and finally, to cheers and applause, Many Moons Ago.
A partial band change then took place, with White staying on to play with Kathy Brown (keyboards), Djenne Greaves (congas) and Sherwayne Thompson (bass). Brown soloed with an unusual medley of Amazing Grace and Ain't Misbehavin before the rest of the band joined her in another quick tempo song.
She then gave a gentle, happy interpretation to Autumn Leaves, leaving one to imagine the leaves falling as merrily as her keyboard's notes did on the ear. After an extended version of Blusette, Sabrina Williams returned to the stage with a very evocative Land of Make Believe.
Another partial band change again saw White remaining while Bent and Jon Williams returned accompanied by Romeo Gray on trombone. Gray's emotional Mercy drew much applause.
The ebullient Karen Smith joined the band to sing Cheek to Cheek, A Day in the Life of a Fool, That's Life and I'm in the Middle. Not only was she cheered loudly as she ended, but many cried "More! More!" and she was persuaded to return with the bouncy All of Me.
SIGNIFICANTLY
DISCOUNTED RATES
After a half-an-hour break, president McNaughton gave a short thank-you speech during which it was announced that all of the night's artistes performed "at significantly discounted rates," so as to help the charitable cause.
The pre-break band returned but it was accompanied by Mark Pritchett (guitar and vocals) who delivered two blues numbers, Have You Ever Loved a Woman? and Down in Louisiana with great style. He even had the audience chanting "Yeahs" and "Ooohs" with him.
Brother in life and on the saxophone Ian (alto) and Errol Hird (soprano) gave a number of thrilling pieces on their instruments, including What Kind of Fool Am I? Well, You Need Not, and Autumn Leaves. The brothers' version of Autumn Leaves was slow and meditative, full of regret at the passing of Autumn, in direct contrast to Brown's interpretation earlier.
A FINE JAZZ PRACTITIONER
Cuffe then introduced the audience to "one of the Caribbean's most talented performers" in the person of Barbara Cadet of St Lucia. She sang, played the tenor saxophone and keyboards and demonstrated that she really was a fine jazz practitioner.
Her talent and versatility were shown off with her rendition of her own composition Missing You and her emotional performance of This Time We'll Take it Slow, which she said she'd first heard only days before. Her penultimate song was Turn Your Lights Down Low, a tribute to Marley, and she ended with the standard Night and Day.
"Jamaica's internationally recognised genius of the guitar, Ernest Ranglin," came on stage at 9:50 p.m., having only hours before arrived from an appearance in Brooklyn. Though his playing was masterly with its strong, inventive playing after a very few tunes, including So What, Blues Bossa, and Marley's Lively Up Yu'Self, people started leaving.
As Cuffe observed indirectly, many had work the next day. But even those who did not stay until the end would have enjoyed a great show.
