Anguilla Tranquility Jazz Festival
The beginning of the local tourist season also brings the beginning of a series of fun musical events to the usually quiet Anguilla. One such event is last weekends' Tranquility Jazz Festival which is also taped for broadcast on BET.
There is nothing better than watching someone have fun at what they do, especially when what they're doing is their source of making a living. While we geeks seldom get a chance to display that (imagining a passionate show of server administration), Jazz musicians by their mere nature have no problem displaying their love for their craft.
The first Friday night performer that made an impression was the gorgeous Liv Warfield and her band from Portland Oregon, with their unique indie jazz sound. If you like subtle jazz, a little bit of hip hop and a lotta soul, you should check out her tour dates and music here.
The highlight of the show was Monty Alexander, a native of Jamaica who has been creating music for the past 50 years and has performed with Frank Sinatra, Natalie Cole, Dizzie Gillespie, Ray Brown and Milt Jackson.
His performance moved effortlessly from cool jazz to electric reggae at the most unexpected times, but the crowd reaction was what made his performance even more special.
See, Anguillians LOVE reggae.... perhaps calypso, soca as well, but reggae is the binding music of the Caribbean.
While I liked reggae before moving to Anguilla, I definely thought it to be a fairly monotone type of music. Now I understand that nothing could be further from the truth.... reggae is a common language spoken by many Caribbean cultures and a way of life, with many variations on it - including reggae jazz, a sound I have never heard before Monty Alexander.
The crowd was mellow when Monty started playing but when he grabbed his melodica and started doing a solo that ended with just a few notes, resembling the familiar reggae beat - the whole crowd went wild, got up, started dancing and singing along. Again, there is nothing better than watching have fun at what they do and even my Dad and his girlfriend visiting from Switzerland couldn't help but get into it.
While Monty's album "Concrete Jungle: The Music of Bob Marley" is greatness, after seeing him live, it comes across as rather placid and devoid of all that life and spontaneity you can only get from a live jazz performance, such as the one with "only" his trio below.
Anytime anything is going on in Anguilla, it's a HUGE deal.
To watch musicians from all over the World perform in this beautiful place, with that "new to the island" look of wonder on their faces, is greatness.
To be able to do that outside, on a gorgeous night in November, in 73 degree weather under the clear and starry sky, with the whole place dancing like nobody is watching is simply amazing and inspiring.
There is nothing better than watching someone have fun at what they do, especially when what they're doing is their source of making a living. While we geeks seldom get a chance to display that (imagining a passionate show of server administration), Jazz musicians by their mere nature have no problem displaying their love for their craft.
The first Friday night performer that made an impression was the gorgeous Liv Warfield and her band from Portland Oregon, with their unique indie jazz sound. If you like subtle jazz, a little bit of hip hop and a lotta soul, you should check out her tour dates and music here.
The highlight of the show was Monty Alexander, a native of Jamaica who has been creating music for the past 50 years and has performed with Frank Sinatra, Natalie Cole, Dizzie Gillespie, Ray Brown and Milt Jackson.
His performance moved effortlessly from cool jazz to electric reggae at the most unexpected times, but the crowd reaction was what made his performance even more special.
See, Anguillians LOVE reggae.... perhaps calypso, soca as well, but reggae is the binding music of the Caribbean.
While I liked reggae before moving to Anguilla, I definely thought it to be a fairly monotone type of music. Now I understand that nothing could be further from the truth.... reggae is a common language spoken by many Caribbean cultures and a way of life, with many variations on it - including reggae jazz, a sound I have never heard before Monty Alexander.
The crowd was mellow when Monty started playing but when he grabbed his melodica and started doing a solo that ended with just a few notes, resembling the familiar reggae beat - the whole crowd went wild, got up, started dancing and singing along. Again, there is nothing better than watching have fun at what they do and even my Dad and his girlfriend visiting from Switzerland couldn't help but get into it.
While Monty's album "Concrete Jungle: The Music of Bob Marley" is greatness, after seeing him live, it comes across as rather placid and devoid of all that life and spontaneity you can only get from a live jazz performance, such as the one with "only" his trio below.
Anytime anything is going on in Anguilla, it's a HUGE deal.
To watch musicians from all over the World perform in this beautiful place, with that "new to the island" look of wonder on their faces, is greatness.
To be able to do that outside, on a gorgeous night in November, in 73 degree weather under the clear and starry sky, with the whole place dancing like nobody is watching is simply amazing and inspiring.
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