Lisa Allen-Agostinireviews Jazz Artists on the Greens
Alexis Baro ran off with the biggest jazz concert in Trinidad, Jazz Artists on the Greens, when he performed at the five-hour show in St Joseph on March 16. Baro, a Cuban-Canadian trumpeter, entranced the audience with his quintet's dynamic five-song set, at one point having members of the audience boogieing in front of the stage. He played mostly his own compositions, showing off virtuoso fingering on two trumpets, during a set that included the dirty funk jam Jazz it Up, the calypso-inspired Dear Friend, and the fiery Afro-Cuban guaguanco rumba piece Panorama.
Baro's drummer Ahmed Michel, keyboardist Ruben Vazquez, saxophonist Jeff King, and bassist Yoser Rodriguez justified their stage time with powerful solos throughout the set–notably Michel's magical drumming at the start of Panorama and Vazquez's spine-tingling piano tones on the same tune.An annual spectacle featuring local jazz practitioners as well as regional and international guests, Jazz Artists on the Greens has been one of the enduring highlights of the jazz calendar in Trinidad. It is now in its 11th year and its MCs boasted that this was its biggest audience ever. The WASA Grounds at Farm Road, St Joseph, were certainly packed that evening, with too few plastic chairs to accommodate the guests. As usual, the show put on by Production One had excellent staging and ran without an audible hitch. Some folks in the audience brought picnic baskets while others patronised the many stalls selling liquor, snacks, hot dinners and ice cream.
The show opened at around 5 pm with a languorous, smooth jazz performance by local saxophonist Jesse Ryan, accompanied by Raf Robertson on keyboards, Theron Shaw on guitar, David Richards on drums and Rodney Alexander on bass. His set peaked at its end with a rendition of the late Lord Pretender's signature song Never Ever Worry.Second on the programme were the electric violin-playing sisters Janine and Janelle Xavier, who perform under the banner Xavier Strings. Accompanied on keyboards by Rodney Harris, drums by David Richards and bass by Kevon La Fleur, the sisters played a dramatic set that ranged from rock/pop to neo-soul and calypso, often infused with acid jazz. Janelle sang vocals on three songs, Anita Baker's Sweet Love, a Latin-flavoured rendition of the jazz standard Summertime, and Jessie J's hip hop tune Price Tag. Her smoky contralto struggled on the higher notes of Sweet Love but found its stride on Price Tag, and Summertime soared with the aid of a clever string solo by her sister Janine. Xavier Strings' finest moments, however, came at the close of the set with two folk/calypso medleys, in which the sisters performed playful interpretations of Brown Girl in the Ring, Differentology, Let Go and even a Tobago jig.
The closing act for the evening was pan maestro Andy Narell, who masterfully handled the double seconds for a 90-minute set of mostly his original songs, including the vibrant Latin jazz piece Calinda, and the zouk-flavoured tune Baby Steps. He, too, played with Raf Robertson and Theron Shaw, but these instrumentalists seemed much more at home in Narell's sextet, putting down electrifying solos during the performance whereas they were more laid back in the opening set. Rounding off the sextet were drummer Gevion Williams, bassist Clint De Coteau and percussionist Modupe Onilu. Though his set was lower key than Alexis Baro's, Narell kept the patrons more than satisfied with his lyrical, warm and sweet pan solos. It was also delightful to hear the sextet perform Raf Robertson's arrangement of Andre Tanker's Forward Home. Narell has been working with Lord Relator, and the calypso legend made a guest appearance during the set to deliver his perennial A Lovely Day for Cricket. Narell ended the set with his 1999 Panorama tune Coffee Street.
A patron was heard to remark afterwards that they were disappointed by the shortage of vocal performances in this edition of the show, but I for one was pleased by the level of musicianship and the sheer amount of actual jazz in the 2013 show. Last year it featured more neo-soul and pop than jazz; a show called Jazz Artists on the Greens should give the audience what it says on the tag. This year it certainly did.
