- WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
Rosemarie Phillips in performance at 'Jazz In The Gardens', held at Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston on Sunday.
Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
THREE COUNTRIES, Jamaica, Barbados and England, were represented on stage at Sunday's 'Jazz In The Gardens' at the Jamaica Pegasus. Despite the Caribbean and trans-Atlantic blend, the show did not, as a whole, sizzle.
But neither did it fizzle, with Harold Davis leading his friends (Seretse Small on guitar, Dale Brown on bass and Dillion White on drums) on a Ain't No Sunshine to a dancehall drum beat, and Small coaxing the adults-turned-kids along on Itsy-Bitsy Spider, as well as Tony Gregory honouring Ray Charles and bringing up intermission with the clap-along Gypsy.
And then there was Maurice singing Twelfth of Never for his lady and the January and February birthday people gathered at the front of the gazebo, under which the band was set up. Michael Anthony Cuffe was the master of ceremony.
Harold Davis and Friends started the evening's music rolling to a large audience. Twenty-one-year-old Diamara Neil brought the British flavour, with a faint Jamaican touch. Her youth showed in looks and slight nervousness, but her voice gained additional strength towards the end of her gospel flavoured opener, giving, the 'reason why we sing'.
Neil did Summertime with, as she said, a 'soul funk groove', working through a momentary fumble at the beginning. The beat and the lyrics did not quite connect in parts, but it seemed to be fun for most. She (Neil), ended with a long, high 'summertime', twisting her body to the right sharply and walking off to warm applause.
With Harold Davis and Friends providing the music for the three performers, there were no band changes to endure, so Jamaica was up next in the form of Tony Gregory, the night's 'macca' among the roses. His vintage was underscored by Anthony Cuffe saying that he won his first prize, on the Vere Johns Opportunity Hour, in 1958, and Gregory confirmed this by going back to his own ska record (dance and all). There is a huge difference between 'age' and 'old' and Gregory was certainly not old, as with a smile on his face and a brown jacket on his shoulders, he flew the audience to the moon and informed I'm Only Human.
CLEAR VOICE
His voice was clear and his eyes lively, but after the ska of Eileen there was need for the pause that refreshes and a chair. It was from this chair that Gregory delivered the wonderful tribute to Ray Charles in Georgia and Can't Stop Loving You, rising to his feet on the chorus of the latter, the voices of the spectators soaring in harmony.
Hors d'oeuvres, good selection from Gladdy of Wild Bunch and closer attention to Celestial Seasonings' free samples preceded the Barbadian connection of Rosmarie Phillips.
She entered singing, strolling up the aisle between members of the audience, who lived up to the sentiments of I Only Got Eyes For You. She may have been from Barbados, but Phillips delved into French right after and would go back there for a reggae number later in her set. In fact, I Love Paris preceded her original When My Man Can't Decide, which tackled a familiar situation with when a man says that he loves you/then who is the other woman in his arms? The song was met with warm applause.
