Not even the weekend’s adverse weather warnings could keep patrons away from Jaiso Festival at SoundForge, Mucurapo on May 17. And those who came, came for the music.
Jaiso the Band, a collective of jazz-trained calypso warriors under the leadership of pannist, composer and cultural fire-stoker Charlton “Charlo” Alfonso, delivered a seamless, genre-bridging showcase of steel, brass, and soul with the precision and flair of a seasoned headline act.
[caption id="attachment_1156722" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Quinton Neckles and Khayann Keilani deliver a stirring cover of Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga’s Die With A Smile. - Photos courtesy Gr8 Media Solutions Ltd[/caption]
The rain clouds that threatened to dull the evening were all but blown away by the band’s razor-sharp horn section – Barry Homer (trumpet), Jerron Jones (sax), Irwyn Roach (baritone sax) and Anthony O’Connor (tenor sax) – whose piercing lines signalled that this wasn’t just another concert.
[caption id="attachment_1156721" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Sisters Sonja and Suraya Chase of the duo Eko perform their Carnival 20225 groovy soca release Playback (Canboulay). - Photos courtesy Gr8 Media Solutions Ltd[/caption]
Charlo opened the evening with a warm, instrumental glide through My Favourite Things, on his tenor pan, giving Julie Andrews' classic a new island strut. But the night didn’t stay quiet for long. From there, Khayann Keilani stunned with a performance that drew screams from seated and standing patrons alike – including respected veteran musician and producer Carl “Beaver” Henderson, National Carnival Commission (NCC) CEO Keiba Motley and former Minister of National Security Brigadier Carl Alfonso, who is also Charlo’s grandfather.
Keilani’s renditions of Jill Scott’s He Loves Me and Beyoncé’s Plastic off the Sofa were as textured and controlled as they were explosive.
[caption id="attachment_1156720" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Charlo challenges percussionist Michael Jaggasar to a high-energy drum battle. - Photos courtesy Gr8 Media Solutions Ltd[/caption]
Jemima Joseph brought the groove into familiar territory with a cool, jazzy reworking of Blaxx’s Mash Up, proving that soca, in the hands of a skilled vocalist and tight band, can move like molasses and still hit just as hard.
And then came Quinton Neckles. Singing like a man possessed, Neckles peeled back Natalie Cole’s Inseparable with vocal runs that left a trail of dropped jaws. He dedicated Luther Vandross’ Never Too Much to his wife Monifa, delivering it with enough falsetto to rattle the rafters.
[caption id="attachment_1156719" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Patrons lose themselves in the rhythm. - Photos courtesy Gr8 Media Solutions Ltd[/caption]
Midway through the show, Charlo turned up the tension with a fiery exchange between pannist and percussionist. Challenging Michael Jaggasar to a full-bodied conga showdown during his performance of Jose Alberto’s La Flauta Invisible – lighting the touchpaper on what would become a fiery second act.
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