The members of Chalice (from left) are Demar Gayle, Stephen Golding, Keith Francis, Desi Jones, Dean Stephens, Alla and Wayne Armond. - Contributed

Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

After the band Chalice played at the 1996 Reggae Sumfest festival then headed to Europe, they decided to "take a sabbatical", as guitarist and vocalist Wayne Armond puts it, the plan being to return in the new millennium.

"We had an album and it was not taken by any record company. It was not a bad album, not a great album. It was a good album," Armond said. "Everybody was looking at the Shabbas, the Beenies, the Bountys, who were emerging and saturating the scene."

So after their seventh full-length set, Tuff Enuff and hits including the ballad I Still Love You, the spiritual Good To Be There, outright rub-a-dub of Dangerous Disturbance and Can't Dub and the 'jump up' of Revival Time Chalice did not perform together or record again. Armond pointed out, though, that "We never considered the band disbanded. We are all friends. We sit together, write, produce".

It was not all of the seven original members who have been able to keep the Chalice bond, however, as keyboard player Mikey Wallace, who moved on to play with Third World, was shot and killed near his home in Kingston in 1999. It was a bullet to the heart of the millennium plan.

Seven years later

However, seven years later than projected, Chalice will play once again, on Saturday night's 'Symphony - Together Under the Stars', on the lawns of King's House. The event, in part a fusion of classical music and reggae, was the spark that lit Chalice once more.

"We love the 20-piece orchestra. All the members of the group are happy to do this from a musical perspective," Armond said. The band will be performing two songs with the orchestra.

Those members include four from the original line-up, Armond, drummer Desi Jones, bass guitarist Keith Francis and keyboard player Alla. Original lead singer Robbie Peart has retired, singer Trevor Roper has migrated and Wallace is dead. Of the fresh faces, Dean Stephens is not exactly a new vocalist, but Armond pointed out that only two Chalice songs were recorded with him. Then there is guitarist Stephen Golding and keyboard player Demar Gayle, a relative youngster who brings the fresh perspective.

"We actually started getting the line-up together in December, getting serious in January," Armond said. With about six weeks of rehearsals gone, it is going well. "It comes back pretty quickly," Armond said.

Extremely important show

"I am actually excited again, for the first in a long time," Armond said. "This show is an extremely- important show for Chalice. I think there is great expectation from the public and it is our responsibility to deliver."

And there is excitement in the music business that Chalice has regrouped, Armond saying "It feels good that there are people wanting to work with the band".

"We intend to do more work. We will be around," Armond said. The initial studio project is an album of Chalice classics, with duets from some of the bands contemporaries. "We have started with that. The artistes we have checked is pure love. It is just that we have not got all the guests together," Armond said about the project, which does not yet have a projected release date.