Legend who was the only current mainstream act forming part of the line-up performed a superb set which included hits from his two albums. With George Benson in the audience Legend was also able to segue from his hit “P.D.A We Don’t Care,” to Benson’s “Feel Like Making Love,” during his performance for which he received a standing ovation at the end.
The St. Lucia Jazz Festival which was borne out of a need to woo visitors to the island during what was once a trough period during the tourism season, has attracted some of the biggest names in straight ahead and cross over Jazz as well as R&B music.
In its’ sixteen year history, the event has seen the likes of George Benson, Al Jarreau, Tito Puente, Santana, The Neville Brothers, Grover Washington Jr., Najee, Kenny G, Kenny Burrell, Herbie Hancock, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Nancy Wilson, Regina Belle, Luther Vandross, Patti Labelle, Chaka Khan, Roberta Flack and Ashford and Simpson among many others. In more recent years the festival has also included younger and more contemporary R&B acts to its roster including Brian McKnight, Mary J. Blige and Fantasia, but may have pushed the envelope too far in 2006 when Rihanna and Ciara both performed at the event.
However both performed disappointingly on backing tracks; both performed to less than rave reviews. With a new man at the head of the Tourism Ministry, Senator Allan Chastanet, the man credited for starting the festival as Director of tourism in St. Lucia in 1992 the organizers went back to the drawing board, bringing the event back to its musical roots.
This year’s line up included straight ahead Jazz acts like Tania Maria, David Murray, The W.E.S Group, Isaac Hayes and Pete Escovado. Cross-over acts included George Benson, Al Jarreau, Kurt Whalum, George Duke, Gerald Albright, Norman Brown Ronald “Boo” Hinkson and Natalie Cole with John Legend being the only act with recent currency.
The St. Lucia Jazz Festival opened on Friday May 4th with the traditional Caribbean Party which featured St. Lucian acts signed to bMobile Alpha, Mantius, Ninja Dan, Q-Pid and Platinum George as well as Jamaican Reggae act Morgan Heritage and The Asylum band featuring Bunji Garlin and Faye Ann Lyons of Trinidad. The event then made its ten day run with concerts being held at outdoor venues across the island. A new feature of the festival was “Kingdom Night” which featured Pastor Donnie McClurkin out of the USA and Isaac Blackman out of Trinidad. The sold out event was also one of the most talked about concerts of the festival.
