In a little while you will see me. And in a little while you will not see me. So it was with our fifth Tranquillity Jazz Festival, produced by the Anguilla Tourist Board and BET Event Productions. It has come and it has gone. But the memory of authentic jazz is embedded in our minds; and its passion lives in our hearts.

The opening act at the CuisinArt Resort & Spa on 8th November was stunning. Shermel Richardson, a daughter of the soil, captivated the audience by blending her rare physical beauty with the beauty of her music on the flute. Music, it seems, is an integral part of her personality.

Accompanied by Lennox Vanterpool on the piano, Shermel (just turned 19) warmed the hearts of the audience with melodious music – rhythms –emanating from her flute. As she appeared on stage, I overheard a young man say: “Amazing grace!” And when she had finished playing her first tune, he exclaimed: “Amazing grace! How sweet the sound!” The sound of Shermel’s flute was indeed amazing and soothing. Her music was like oxygen – pure and clean – to those people who were lucky to have been exposed to it: unpolluted Anguillian music oxygen! Shermel made Anguilla proud.

She closed her excellent performance with Amazing Grace, and I smiled to myself when I thought about the comments of the young man to whom I just referred. But, yes, that gospel tune was a fitting way to end a wonderful presentation.

I must add here that Shermel’s appearance as the opening artiste was most significant: it signalled the coming of a new dimension to the Festival. Formerly, all the artistes in our festivals were non-Anguillians. That will no longer be the case. Her appearance has made the statement that those days are rapidly coming to a close and that in the near future more Anguillian artistes will be among the main line-up of jazz performers. Shermel has said, and has shown, that we have the talent here.

Shermel’s presentation was followed by that of the night’s feature artiste: Diane Schuur, “the new First Lady of Jazz.” The highly appreciative audience was thrilled by her singing and mastery of the piano. Her performance will long be remembered by those who appreciate the beauty of real jazz music. Make no mistake about it, she lived up to her reputation as a world-class jazz singer. Even Governor Andrew George seemed enthralled by her presentation. He is known to be musically dead in his feet but they showed signs of life, such was the healing power of Diane’s music. The Governor tapped to the rhythm. I do not know if the Deputy Governor, Stanley Reid, noticed it but at least two persons pinched me and said: “Look di Governor’s foot moving!”

Diane’s handling of the piano held the audience spellbound with her harmonious and romantic rhythms. And the people were awestruck by the fact that Diane, having been blind from birth, played as though she had 20-20 vision. Also, she impressed them greatly with her warmth, humour and wit. Diane is an extremely charming lady with whom it is easy to fall in love. Many in the audience did. She was just sweet! An important lesson from her performance – of a blind woman mastering a piano the way she did – is that no matter what difficulties one may encounter in one’s life it takes will power to overcome them with triumph.

After a night of two great presentations, the people left CuisinArt Resort hoping for no less the following night. The venue was Temenos Golf Club. The setting – the atmosphere – was fantastic. Some would say romantic. Again, there were excellent performances from all the artistes: Onaje Allan Gumbs (who has Anguillian roots), Liv Warfield and Monty Alexander, plus the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School (ALHCS) Concert Band and the Anguilla Jazz Band.

The performances by the ALHCS Concert Band and the Anguilla Jazz Band were praiseworthy, but I am compelled to make special mention of the ALHCS Band. I cannot help thanking myself for not missing the show. Had I missed it I would never have realised what a great band our school has. I would never have believed in my wildest dreams that the band played such wonderful music. I was tremendously impressed. And so was the audience. I went away thinking what a great job the music teachers at the school were doing with those young people.

I am compelled also to make special mention of the performance of Monty Alexander. Believe me. Words are too weak to describe it. But, in trying to do so, I am left with no choice but to use several of them even though they mean the same thing. His performance was splendid, wonderful, magnificent, exquisite, superb, marvellous, superlative . . . (I ran out of words.)
Monty mastered the piano like I have seen no other, and he is definitely among the world’s best. His biographical notes quote him as saying, “The piano, to me is a vehicle for connecting to other human beings. I’m very open to all forms of music. I’m not a behop musician, I’m not a calypso musician, I’m not a reggae musician. I’m a musician who loves it all.” And Monty certainly treated us to an excellent repertoire of first-class music. If Anguilla had Grammy awards, Monty would have won one for each of the songs he played. Oh yes. He played his way into the hearts of a huge crowd which was indeed blessed to see and hear him.

When his playing was over, I told myself that it was a hard act to follow and went away anxious to see what night three, at the same venue (Temenos Golf Club), had to offer. It offered much and was noted for excellent performances from Reuben Rogers (whose grandfather is Anguillian), Mike Phillips and Cassandra Wilson. But the presentation which made the night memorable for most people was that of Mike Phillips on the saxophone. Mike really thrilled the audience with his spine-tingling sounds – the most beautiful music – which could ever come from a saxophone. It was a tremendous show of appreciation of the richness of his music when the crowd, rose to its feet in unison, to applaud an astounding performance. On seeing that, my mind went back to Mike’s biographical notes where someone was quoted as saying, after one of his (Mike’s) solo renditions: “Wow, listen to those people responding, and all he is doing is playing a saxophone. They can feel that what he is doing is real . . . But here’s one man breathing into an instrument, and the whole room feels alive . . .” And, not surprising, that was also the situation at Temenos Golf Club. There was Mike – “one man breathing into an instrument” – and the whole crowd felt alive. Even the pious Sister Laureen could not stay in her seat. She was ecstatic and clapped and clapped.

Indeed, the 2007 Tranquillity Jazz Festival has left many Anguillians feeling alive after having witnessed several great performances. It has left many of us feeling proud that we were able to hold another successful music festival. The organisers must be highly commended for a job well done. In this regard Fitzroy Tomlinson (Briggy), James Connor, Merlyn Rogers and Johnno Edwards, along with Derek Lewis of BET Event Productions, readily come to mind. Their combined efforts produced good fruit and I say to them thanks for a job well done.

What amazes me, though, is that despite the Festival’s contribution to Anguilla’s social and economic well-being there is still a significant number of people who complain that too much money is being spent on it. Surely, it is heavily subsidised but it is not a case of money being poured down the drain. To the contrary, it is money well spent.

The original aim of the Festival was to attract visitors to Anguilla during those slow months which preceded the start of the tourism season. It was also a way of commencing the season in grand style, so to speak. Whatever its original aim, the Festival certainly stimulates economic activity which puts money in the hands of the people.

Another benefit is that because the Festival is advertised year round, Anguilla as a whole gets 365 days a year of advertising which ensures that it is kept in the eyes and ears of tourists, worldwide. In other words, Anguilla is constantly kept in the spotlight as an upscale tourist destination. In this regard, the periodic televising of the Festival on BET channels is working wonders for us and is further proof of the importance of the Festival to the sustainability of our tourism sector.

A related benefit of the Festival is that it ensures that Anguilla remains on the world map of music centres to which Moonsplash has already contributed in a gigantic way. It is because we are already on the map that Victor Banks, our Minister of Tourism, was able to write in this year’s Tranquillity Jazz Festival Magazine that: “We believe that the members of the international community are looking for an experience like Tranquillity Jazz Festival where the focus in on the delivery of the richest and purest elements of the art form.”

Having said that I now make the point the benefits of the Festival are much greater than originally envisaged. That is also the view of Merlyn Rogers, our Tourism Marketing Director: “. . . We believe that the Tranquillity Jazz Festival has become more that just a way to jump start the tourist season. It is more than just a component to diversify our product offerings. It is more than just a marketing tool or that it is the ideal fit with brand Anguilla.” She continued: “While it is all of these, we firmly believe it is most importantly a long-term investment in the youth of Anguilla . . . Tranquillity Jazz will have high returns on our investment because, through this, we hope not only to start interest, but to have meaningful impact on the lives of young people with the gift of music.”

Most definitely, the Festival must be seen as an investment in our young people, all the more reason why we must ensure that it lives. It exposes them to accomplished artistes from whom they could learn much, and who they could emulate. It contributes to the heightening of our children’s appreciation of music. It is an inspiration to those interested in making music their career. And, among other things, it shows them the heights to which they could aspire and eventually make their mark on the world’s stage of music. In short, the Festival exposes our children to positive influences and the finer things of life.

It is in light of the foregoing considerations that Merlyn opined: “As visionaries we must . . . [look towards] the year 2017 when the festival’s billboard will feature Anguillian youth who would have been influenced by our actions in 2007.” And it is in this context that young Shermel’s appearance in this year’s Festival, must be seen as sending a most positive message to our youth: there is a place for each of you on the international stage once you are committed and hardworking.

A direct spin-off of the Festival was the holding of a two-week Summer Music Camp, 9th to 20th July this year, for young Anguillians. It was led by Dr William Smith who was assisted by experts from the USA, and by Lennox Vanterpool and Kimba Carty-Southwell of Anguilla. The Camp, in addition to formally introducing participants to the playing of jazz music, also instructed them in the history of jazz to give them a deeper understanding of what it is all about. It was this camp that contributed immensely to the high quality jazz presentation by the ALHCS Concert Band on the second evening of the Festival. A similar music camp is already in the planning for 2008. Indeed, the Jazz Festival is making an impact where it matters most: among the youth.

And the just concluded 2007 Tranquillity Jazz Festival made its impact on all Anguillians, and visitors, with its delivery of rich and pure jazz. Nothing less! Unquestionably, the Festival was a tremendous success. It lived up to its marketing slogan: Straight! No Chaser! I understand that Victor Banks (a jazz aficionado), under whose Ministry the Festival falls, carried the slogan further by adopting it in the ordering of his drinks: Straight! No Chaser!

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