"THE LONG AND SHORT OF JAZZ"

Come March 14 and 15, 2003, Anguillians, visitors and other persons will be entertained for the third official season at the Anguilla Jazz Festival now being promoted and managed by Valentin Davis and his long-time friend and world top-rated steel pan player, St. Martener Neville York.

They are coming together again at spring time to bring the entertainment to Anguilla, this time at two venues on the moonlit beach. The festival, titled “The Long and Short of Jazz,” will open on Friday March 14 at 8.30 p.m. at the beach stage in front of the imposing Shoal Bay Beach Hotel on the northern coast of the island. The second presentation the following evening will be the customary live jazz ensemble at the pool side surrounding the Ocean Terrasse Restaurant at the prestigious Frangipani Beach Club at Meads Bay. This main stage will open at 9.00 o’clock following a four-course dinner.
Mr. Davis is the General Manager of Frangipani Beach Club and has a keen interest and delight in jazz. His involvement in and presentation of the Anguilla Jazz Festival has created a welcome attraction to visitors and Anguillians at this time of the year. He should be commended for his excellent work in the area of entertainment, hospitality and community involvement. Over the past years he has made contributions from the proceeds of parties and jazz functions at the hotel to several worthy causes including the Murray Ballin Scholarship Foundation, the Anguilla Community Foundation and the Bethel Methodist Pre-school playground. He is now actively engaged as President of the West End School Development Committee which is raising funds for the construction of a community auditorium as part of the ongoing school project.

The entertainment he is bringing again to Anguilla this year is expected to provide a treat for many lovers of jazz and the associated show performances that will be taking place. It was his effort to “give the people what they want” that saw the beginning of the Anguilla Jazz Festival in March 2001 and now the continuation in March 2003.

Neville York, a graduate of Northern Illinois University, performs with symphony orchestras in Holland and Europe and engages Marshall Vente’s Tropicale as his band. Over the past seven years he has performed with Marshall in Chicago and St. Maarten. Monty Alexander, a world-renowned jazz pianist, commented on York’s work as follows:
“Neville York gives us a collection of pieces that finely demonstrates his marvelous versatility and taste. Sweet Salt is a wonderful reminder that the steel pan is a truly incredible musical innovation. When it is in the hands of an artist such as Neville York, it is no less a vehicle for the expression of virtuosity than other so called ‘legitimate’ musical instruments. His interpretations of classical favourites as well as the pieces that reflect Caribbean moods – all add up to make a unique and enjoyable collection.”

The “Long and Short of Jazz” as the Anguilla Jazz Festival is called this year, is borrowed from an album by Eldee Young and Marshall Vente. Young is an international entertainer, vocalist and bassist and an original member of the Ramsey Lewis Trio and co-founder of Young-Holt Unlimited. Vente hails from Chicago and is regarded as one of the best jazz pianists in that city. The CD derived its title from the fact that Vente is so much taller than Young.

Marshall Vente is no stranger to Anguilla, having previously performed on the island with his Jazz Tropicale Band which received much applause for its excellent performance.“The Long and Short of Jazz” is an event which must not be missed at Shoal Bay (North) and at Frangipani Beach Club on March 14 and 15 respectively.

A scene from the previous Jazz Festival at Frangipani Beach Club. Mr. Valentin Davis and Mrs. Davis are at left