Monday, January 28, 2013

Jazz Festival Disappointment

I always look forward to the annual Jazz and Blue Festival on the northcoast, but this year left me wanting,. Its really no fault of the organisers however. You see, every year except this year I have attended every night. I could kick myself for having  chosen Fridays as the day to to a talk show on Power 106, for it really is getting in the place of some of my fun. As soon as we renegotiate, I am going to have to change the day. For now even the Bank of Jamaica concerts which have excellent performers on the last Friday of every month is leaving me out.

But back to jazz fest. I hear Thursday and Friday night were absolutely out for this world. I could kick myself for not being able to see Coco Tea, Michael Bolton and Mary J Blige and Etana. I absolutely love those two guys and I hear the Mary J and Etana brought the house down.

I could  not get there before Saturday night and whereas RomainVirgo was excellent,  Dionne Warwick was much better than expected and John Legend was absolutely wonderful, KC and the Sunshine Band and Monica should have paid the organisers to have them on rather than the other way around.

It was so bad that KC had to beg the people to stop walking out! Sure he was good in his time  but that was decades ago and he is now grossly overweight  and has nothing new. Further the dancers he brought on seemed more suitable  for  a circus than a stage show! I had seen him two years ago at Hard Rock in Miami on New Year's eve  and he was much better or maybe its because of the environment and his not having any competition at that venue why he was tolerable then. We left during his performance.

I was very, very pleasantly surprised by Dionne as I had thought she was over the hill but if you closed your eyes you would have thought it was the same Dionne of forty years ago, great hits and smooth can't done. And now that her eldest son has joined her repertoire they are really great.

Of course John Legend is incomparable. He is so charismatic and smooth. Boy what a man. Then he brought on Grumps Morgan and Taurus Riley and that just took it over the top.

The problem for me however is that after Celine Dion's performance last year,  there is no possibility of anyone ever surpassing that performance as it took us all to a new high.

But I remain an optimist, so lets hope one day soon she will be surpassed at Jazz Fess. The real high for me this weekend was really being with family and friends.

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