Trinis jazz it up

Cricket’s “Prince of Port-of-Spain,” Brian Lara is flanked by his buddies, Geoffrey Wharton-Lake, left, and Jason Alcantara at Sunday’s open-air concert at the Farley Hill National Park.

Trinis played themselves on and off stage at the just concluded Barbados Jazz Festival. Everywhere you turned during the week-long music feast you met locals.

On stage, young Charles Ettienne wowed the crowd at the Farley Hill National Park when he made a guest appearance with acclaimed Bajan saxophonist Arturo Tappin. Sharing the spotlight with the young, gifted trumpeter were keyboardist Myles Robertson, son of popular Trinidadian musician Raf Robertson and American double Grammy Award-winning percussionist Ralph McDonald, who is married to a Trinidadian.

At the fringe festival events, staged at showplaces along the Barbados south coast, Mike Boothman held his own, playing alongside some of Barbados’ best jazz musicians. Seen supporting Mike at one of his shows was Chantal Esdelle, leader of popular jazz group Moyenne.

Local radio stations held pre-festival contests which enabled listeners to vie for all-expenses paid trips to Barbados. Among the winners flown in courtesy BWIA and seen enjoying themselves at the luxurious Accra Beach Hotel were Marlene Joy Harper of Siparia and Hayden and Marcia Alexander of Curepe.

The national media also attended the festival in numbers and personnel who kept up with the hectic itinerary included Judy Chong Dennison and a sexi-member crew from JCD & Associates; Michael Mondezie; Ferrence “Franco” de Freitas; Raymond Edwards and yours truly. Trinidadian Marcia Erskine (nee Mentor) was also there covering the festival for Jamaica’s Sunday Herald. For the Festival, the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) also hosted more than 50 journalists, from USA, Canada, UK, Jamaica, St Lucia and Martinique.

Some of the easily recognised T&T jazz lovers seen at the various venues were Brian Lara, Geoffrey Wharton-Lake, Jason Alcantara, Lynda Murray, Renee Vidale-Walker, Gillian Duncan, Michael Paty, Valerie Wilson, David and Nicole Toby, Faye Alibocus, Britt Carmona, Reggie Amour, Gillian Vidale-Duncan, Dionyse Browne and Monique LaVeau.

Full marks are deserving by Festival organiser, Cuban-born Gilbert Rowe, and his GMR International promotions outfit, the BTA and many corporate sponsors of the event.

The Olympic 100M champion of the 1996 Olympics, Donovan Bailey enjoys some down time with his wife Michelle, right and Bajan friends.

Photos: Peter Ray Blood

This party’s Outta de blue

As secondary schools continually to aggressively promote and stage their fund-raising all-inclusive fetes for C2K6, next up is tomorrow’s Outta de Blue VII, staged by the Queen’s Royal College Foundation.

This one follows on the heels of similar events already staged by St Francois Girls’ College and Trinity College. To be held at QRC Grounds in St Clair from 8 pm, music will be by Shurwayne Winchester & Traffik, Roy Cape All Stars, Shadow, Sagicor Exodus, World Wide and DJ Hurricane George.

There will be shuttle service to and from King George V Park, and all surrounding streets will be patrolled by police, private security personnel and K9 detail.

Tribute to Sheppy

Burrokeets International has quelled rumours that it was passing up on this year’s Carnival by announcing its C2K6 mas presentation, A Tribute to Sheppy. An icon organisation in the realm of mas with a message, the Belmont band will honour the memory of one of its long standing members, Keith Shepherd who succumbed to head injuries last year following a football incident. The band will attempt to portray the many facet’s of Keith’s personality, including his unique manner of masquerading annually with Burrokeets, in full suit, and toting a briefcase.

Burrokeets also announced plans for staging its annual calypso monarch contest on Carnival Saturday (February 26), at Burro’s Den, Belle Eau Road, Belmont.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL C2K6 LIST.

Designed by: Randall Rajkumar-Maharaj · Updated daily by: Sheahan Farrell