Great sets at vintage show
ROOTS singer Johnny Clarke shared the spotlight with Elaine Peart and Gem Myers on the latest Jamaica Association of Vintage Artistes and Affiliates (JAVAA) concert, held at Countryside Club last Saturday night.
Representing different eras of Jamaican music, each gave outstanding performances in an evening of quality entertainment.
Backing band Fab Five got things rolling with a superb rendition of Eddie Floyd’s Consider Me sung by drummer/vocalist Grub Cooper, followed by Bunji Garlin’s soca jammer Differentology.
It was then time for Steel Pan Mike (Michael Pinnock) who did timeless tunes like Bill Withers’ Ain’t No Sunshine and Dennis Brown’s Should I to perfection on his pan.
The Mento Tone duo added more variety with a lively suite that included popular mento numbers Brown Gal and Leave my Kiselo.
Opening with the Wailers’ Nice Time, Peart also performed the Della Reese standards Don’t You Know, Not One Minute More and Softly My Love as well as Phil Phillips’ Sea of Love.
Singer Andrew Francis closed the first segment in style, delivering strong renditions of The Spinners’ Could It Be I’m Falling In
Love, Wildflower and Pharrell’s Happy.
After a break, Charmaine Lemonious rekindled the musical fire with I’ll Be There, Moments, Many Rivers to Cross, Perfidia, To Sir With Love and Eres Tu.
The evergreen Bagga Case gave a pleasing take on Rihanna’s Stay, Never Never, Dr Love and his Choose Me Lord before making way for Myers.
She took patrons down memory lane with My Boy Lollipop, The First Cut (Is The Deepest), One Life To Live, Don’t Stay Away, No Time to Lose, Pain In My Heart and How do You Quit. For an encore, she did her hit song One Man Woman.
Johnny Clarke kicked up a storm with a slew of his classic songs including Left With a Broken Heart, Rock With me Baby, True Believer In Love, None Shall Escape The Judgment and Move Outa Babylon.
In the closing stages, stalwart singer Derrick Harriott hit the stage and performed some of his biggest hits: Born to Love You, Do I Worry and Been so Long.
— Basil Walters