Jazz on the Greens

As in previous years, the 2008 edition of this event will feature local and Caribbean Jazz performers. After Birdsong Steel Orchestra provides music off the main stage, the featured performers on the main stage will be SELC Quartet featuring legendary Barbadian pianist Ebe Gilkes; Clarence Green of Barbados; Luther Fran?ois of Lucia and Sean Thomas of Trinidad; Carl Gustave of St Lucia, singing and playing guitar; Jamaican Jazz vocalist Samantha Gooden backed by the Sean Thomas Trio of Trinidad; and Cuban trio Jyros Band performing with ace Trinidadian pan soloist Duvone Stewart

Production One Ltd has been successfully producing Jazz Artistes On The Greens, annually since 2003 with an ear tuned to traditional jazz and its Caribbean variation.

Encouraged by the growing interest shown by long starved jazz fans at small events such as “Jazz on the Avenue”, (a Caribbean Jazz recital event created and produced fortnightly in early 2003 by its associate company, ST Jazz, Inc), Production One Ltd prepared for its inaugural event, Jazz Artists on The Greens, that was hosted in June 2003 within a larger, festival setting at a park.

Leaning towards the Caribbean Jazz idiom for inspiration, and with the intention of bringing a touch of class to local jazz, the objective was to expose as many new patrons and young musicians as possible to Jazz, in an informal setting that could help remove much of the mystique that seemed to surround the genre.

To quote Production One Ltd director, Rolf Doyle, “Jazz Artistes On The Greens is a first step towards a local jazz festival similar in popularity and size to those held annually in St Lucia and Barbados, but always remaining true to the jazz.”

Musician and educator, Sean is the visionary behind thie Jazz Artistes on the Greens series. A graduate of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, he had the opportunity to study and perform with Jazz Masters—Tom Mc Intosh, Ron Carter, Thelonious Monk Jnr, Barry Harris, Max Roach, Lewis Nash and Wynton Marsalis to name a few. He toured India and Thailand with the Thelonious Monk Jazz Ensemble under the direction of distinguished Jazz Masters: Carl Atkins Thelonious Monk Jnr, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter and performed both drums and steelpans at the Snowmass Jazz Festival in Aspen Colorado.

In keeping with the concert’s tradition, one of this year’s featured artistes is Luther Fran?ois, a St Lucia born saxophonist now based in Martinique. He is a Caribbean jazz pioneer founding both the The West Indies Jazz Band and the Caribbean Jazz Workshop Group.

Also in the line-up is Trinidadian-born Ebe Gilkes. Gilkes went to Barbados in 1957, with the Billy Green Quartet, stayed there intending to go to the UK, but never got there. Instead, he stayed, got married and studied, all the while, honing his skill on the piano.

TT’s national instrument will be on the concert spotlight with Duvone Stewart, one of the most talented and gifted pannist, musician, composer and steelpan arranger among the featured artistes.

At the age of eight, Stewart started to play the national instrument with the guidance of his parents. Trintoc Tobago All Stars was his base, where he learned to play the steelpan and also performed with on a regular basis.

His first public performance came when he entered the 12 & under series in 1986, which he won. Then the following year, he took part in the national junior steel-band music festival as a soloist and placed fifth in the finals.

Tickets are priced at $175 in advance and $200 at the gate on the day of the show. For further information visit the concert website at www.jaotg.org.