The San Fernando Jazz festival 2009: ready, set, go (update 2, October 12)

Trinidad & Tobago

originally published, September 26, 2009; update 2 on October 12, 2009

by Reynold Bassant, PRO, San Fernando Jazz festival and Israel, WEC

The San Fernando Jazz festival 2009 was staged on Saturday, 26th September on the scenic San Fernando Hill in San Fernando, Trinidad.  Featured headline act was Raf Robertson and an ensemble of Jazz artistes doing a scintillating new piece of work entitled “Pass The Hat”: A Tribute to Lord Kitchener.  This is Raf’s ingenious extension to his oeuvre which has a spicy calypso edge to its Jazz trimmings – a heady concoction with sunny toppings coming from Arturo Tappin, Frankie McIntosh, Etienne Charles, Errol Ince and his Quartet, Vaughnette Bigford and others.

Bigford took to San Fernando Hill (and not for the first time) with Theron Shaw (guitar), Sean Thomas (drums), Douglas Redon (bass), Tamba Gwindi (percussions) and Anthony Woodroffe (saxophone).

Musical Note by Israel

Taking the word of the Trinidad Guardian’s Radhica Sookraj, the star of The Grandmaster tribute was The Jazz Singer Vaughnette Bigford.  Her set was a varied one that included among other things a Michael Jackson cover and a duo with the bass of Douglas Reddon.  Bigford even lifted herself off from her comfort zone to do a French song along with Classic Jazz.

Bigford will make another play at Satchmo’s Jazz Club in Port of Spain, Trinidad on October 16 before taking on the role of SONGBIRD at Production One’s concert series based at Aura Restaurant in PoS on November 04  2009.

But speaking of Sando Jazz, ask Seeta Persad of Trinidad and Tobago’s Newsday what the highlight was and she would defer to keyboardist and arranger Dawad Phillip who said that “by far, the defining moment” of the festival for him was when Leston Paul did his interpretation of the Grandmaster’s “Pan in A Minor.”  Paul was one-fifth of the Errol Ince Quintet.  The other four-fifths were BJ Saunders on bass, saxophonist Earl Caruth and Vonrick Maynard on drums.

The Errol Ince Quintet gave an encore performance at 110 Jazz and Calypso Lounge, San Fernando on Sunday, October 11, 2009.  The group was set to play the Grandmaster’s “Carnival is Over” along with “Killer Joe” (Quincy Jones) and “Girl from Ipanema” (Antonio Carlos Jobim).

Now back to Vaughnette Bigford’s Satchmo’s appearance.  It is all part of the Hennessy brand’s marketing ploy that essentially supports local musicians – in this case Trinidadian Jazz musicians – by putting them up on stage while serving Hennessy city cocktails on the floor.  Hennessy Artistry has carried this concept to some of the mega cities of the world, London, Moscow, New York, and Paris.

The other Trinidadian musicians who will share the bill, called Hennessy Artistry Live, with Bigford are The Sean Thomas Sextet, Professor Ken Philmore, Tabanca the Blues band and Sheldon Holder from 12 the band.  Sean Thomas is also serving as the curator of the event. (Source: newsday.co.tt)

A Production One Note: SONGBIRDS…live is a new concert series from Production One Ltd. featuring Caribbean female vocalists. A performance showcase featuring, on a regular basis, some of the most notable upcoming and unheralded female voices in contemporary music in Trinidad and Tobago with an ear turned to Jazz and World Music.