Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

Latin band Yerba Buena of Cuba on stage Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival kick off, held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.

In the art of music 'Latin Funk, Jazz and Blues' move the people and at Sunday's start of the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival at the Jamaica Pegasus patrons moved to the electrifying and eclectic beats at the only Kingston staging of the festival.

A packed audience sat in the comfort of the beautifully decorated lawns of the Jamaica Pegasus watching the small stage, as performers such as guitarist Maurice Gordon, ACANTHA and Yuerba Buena wowed them with expert command.

Patrons moved receptively to the music as Gordon and ACANTHA took the stage in the earlier part of the night, and as emcee Paula Ann Porter commented "you can't help but move to the music".

Anticipating the main event

It is pure enjoyment for these patrons at the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival kick off, held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston on Sunday January 21.

As the band took a break before the closing act, Yerba Buena was to come on stage, contented persons chatted away about the coming days of the festival.

"The music so far has been great, I'm going down from Wednesday to avoid all the traffic cause I wanna be in the venue early. I don't wanna miss any of the performances," a patron told The Gleaner.

If the response of the Kingston crowd is anything to go off, the rest of the festival will prove to be full of eager participants ready for a good time.

The last act of the night, New York's latin funk collective Yerba Buena ended on an energetic note.

Rocking the patrons

Jazz singer Acantha of New Orleans performs at the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival kick off, held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston on Sunday. Acantha is the winner of the Jazz Qest talent search held in New York recently. - photos by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

With a fusion of latin funk, Cuban/Spanish influence, as well as Afro Caribbean, Yerba Buena got patrons rocking in their seats.

Dressed in flaming red pants lead singer Cucu Diamnates brought a party vibe as she urged everyone to dance.

While the majority remained seated, a few responded.

One uninhibited couple hit the area at the front of the stage, dancing up a storm for everyone to see.

While another couple to the side of the venue practised more challenging Latin moves.

The patrons were not the only ones dancing as members of the band did a playful competition with each other to show off their 'wining' skills.

It was the band's first time performing in Kingston and they proved themselves more than able to entertain a crowd.

At approximately 10 p.m. patrons began to slowly leave the venue, while some stayed glued to their seats till the end of the Yerba Buena session. With a closing performance from each of the band members, the remaining patrons left to the sound of rhythm and blues playing in the background.