Live Music: Musical Minds Meet, reunite at the Alibi

Often when bands have a "reunion" its on the back end of an either acrimonious or mystifying break-up.

But, while there may have been a definite sense of surprise, there was nothing but joy when bassist Paul "Smiley" Madden and drummer Neison Hardy (the latter now working out of the T.O joined keyboard ace Ozuoune last Wednesday night for the regular - yet never routine "Jazz and Cocktails" session.

The three rekindled memories of heady nights at a another notable Kingston lounge - Christopher's Jazz Cafe - where they had their genesis as P (Paul) O (Ozuoune) and N(Neison) Fyah, with a typically scintillating run.

The current PON Fyah line up -  Carlton Jarrett on bass and a rejuvenated Junior "Bird" Baillie on drums was also on hand, as was drummer Richardo, who spelled Bird while the latter recuperated from illness earlier this year.

the night's entertainment also included a performance from Linstead reggae collective Cologne and the Cornerstone Family, promoting their CD release, "Countryside".

The Jam session happens every Wednesday, beginning around 7:30 and going till about 11pm, with recorded favourites before and after.

No Cover, donations for the band gladly accepted. Emcee: Michael A. D. Edwards

Live Music: Nothing Fancy - Just great music from Clancy (Eccles) at the Alibi

On his prior gig at the start of September, Clancy Eccles Jr stuck mostly to the rich vein of Jamaica's ska tradition, aided  and abetted by the Pon Fyah band ( Ozoune on keyboards, Carlton Jarrett on bass and Richardo on drums) along with the very promising "import" (all the way from St Thomas, Andrew on trombone.

Clancy Eccles Jr (in red0 with Arthur Williams and john Hinds at the Alibi Wednesdays

the inevitable return engagement 2 weeks later was a more free-wheeling yet soulful affair, drawing from a range of popular ballads and mid-tempo numbers spanning a wide time span and artists.

In the end, such details hardly mattered. What did was great entertainment and enjoyable nights, which have been a trademark for the now veteran crooner, himself an inheritor of a great and oft-acknowledged vocal tradition.

And, in the now established Alibi tradition, there were surprise guests - in the first instance, the always welcome, supremely handy saxophonist Nicholas Laraque, a frequent visitor to the Alibi on those occasions when his services are not in demand among Jamaican music's finest touring the world.

On the more recent outing, two nights ago, Clancy was supported by two other Alibi loyalists, though not quite as often seen. Known for his rich baritone voice, and prowess on bass guitar, the hitmaker Mikey Spice is perhaps less known as a multi-instrumentalist. He showed his easy flair on keys on bass, and on vocals. A long-time first call drummer on the Jamaican scene, Akil "Red bull" Karram has decamped to South Florida, but still makes a point of passing through "Yard" and on those visits, he's often on the prowl for a live gig to sit in on. Wednesday night was no exception showcased the maturation of his hard-charging yet   deliberate style.

All in all, the Wednesday Live jazz series continues to gather steam as it closes in on the completion of its first year at the high-rise Alibi venue.

Its anybody's guess as to exactly who will come through or what will go down on future Wednesdays, but its bound to be great

Live Music: at Jazz in the Gardens, Voices carried

Though Jamaican audiences are far more primed for vocal than instrumental live acts (which makes this writer somewhat of a contrarian), a well executed vocal cabaret can be a genuinely extraordinary thrill.

The most recent edition of Jazz in the Gardens at the Pegasus was just that, with every act on the roster delivering a sterling set (despite two artiste's protests of a failing voice) of well-chosen numbers that offered variety and  virtuosity in almost equal measure.

First up though, the band. Drummer Desi Jones led an amalgamation of EMC (Edna Manley College) alumni through an invigorating curtain-raiser of standards before the first vocal act took the stage.

Nina Karle Levy (below) took advantage of her famous name to reel off a fine trio of songs by her storied namesake, Nina Simone: a sultry yet cheerful  "Feelin Good" the crowd-pleaser "My baby Just Cares For Me" and this writer's favourite,"I Put A Spell On You"

She was followed by Montana, who busying himself on the hotel circuit, arrived in less-than-perfect vocal nick. Still, he managed to belt out more than creditable renditions of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" and a Spinners medley  ("Could It Be I'm Falling In Love/ I'll Be Around") before backing off the Burt Bacharach/Hal David classic 'A House is Not A Home".

There was no backing off for erstwhile sportscaster Ian Andrews(right), who came in between two women vocalists I'll get to in a little while. Dapper in grey, he dove straight into "My One and Only Love" before teasing with Doris Day's "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" and giving the required full emotional treatment (even dropping to one knee) to the Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody".

Alisa and Christine are the aforementioned ladies and whilst their repertoires differed considerably, the quality, professionalism and flat-out commitment to their respective crafts was equally unquestionable.

Clad in a fetching black pantsuit, Alisa ran through (OK, she didn't "run") a number of her favourites and was not merely pitch perfect musically, but in terms of the emotions conveyed. The inclusion of the long-missed "Old Friend" by Phyllis Hyman (who took her own life by drug overdose) and the much misconstrued "Hallelujah" (written and recorded by Leonard Cohen, but more famously covered by Jeff Buckley, who drowned) meant that two of her selections had tragedy attached to them, but there was everything joyful in hearing the delivery, as there was in her rousing rendition of Emeli Sande's 'Next To Me".

Sartorially the antithesis of Alisa, Christine Fisher took the stage in flowing, glowing white and delved into the blues. Roberta Flack's "Tryin Times" and the classic 8-bar composition "Trouble in Mind" (often recorded but perhaps most famously by Dinah Washington) set a somber mood that undoubtedly resonated with the audience (and with the organizers) and was not completely erased by a joyously funky reading of  the Tracy Chapman smash, "Give Me One Reason"

No to be outdone by the ladies, closing Rojah changed the tempo and the tenor of the evening completely, with a stirring mix of reggae and r n' b gems (including Jimmy Cliff's "Harder They Come" theme and "Trapped") accompanied by near-manic movement and frequent raps with - and throws to - the audience. He showed no signs of having overcome - as he explained - throat surgery just days prior, except for giving the audience a bit too many cues for sing-alongs and fill-ins.

All told, it was a night, worthy of the Jazz in the Gardens brand, precipitating great anticipation for the next instalment, come September 6.


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