The Tribune

By ALESHA CADET

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

Jazz enthusiasts now have the chance to relax around the pool, while enjoying the sounds of talented Bahamian artists.

“Jazz at Jacaranda,” which officially began last month, is the new spot for Jazz lovers to appreciate every Sunday, from 6-8pm at the Jacaranda House.Naomi Taylor-Crawford, organiser and promoter of Jazz at Jacaranda said since the opening, the event has been “simply excellent”.

“Our very first week, we had a full house and the second week, we’ve had even more persons come out and it has just been growing from week to week,” she said.

With the word getting out and about the “Jazz at Jacaranda,” Ms Taylor-Crawford said more families are coming out in large numbers. She said they are seeing a lot of people and old friends coming out together to just meet up for an afternoon and the weather has been perfect.

“ We are by the pool side and the venue is just beautiful. It’s a Summer series and this is the first Summer that it’s started. What we try to do is, we try to feature the different Jazz musicians,” said Ms Taylor-Crawford.

She said there are so many musicians that don’t have an opportunity to express themselves in a Jazz venue and she hopes this event will change that. “ There are a lot of venues where you could play Rake n Scrape and R and B, but for the Jazz lovers, it’s very limited.”

Bahamian artists such as Ralph Munnings, Anushka Wright and horn players like Deon Turnquest, Tino Richardson, all had the opportunity to play at Jazz at Jacaranda.

“ We’ve featured Teddy Russel on Trombone and Shavencia Thomas on flute. We’ve also had an international artist, Hubert Laws, who is a world renowned flute player. He came over for the first Sunday and opened it up for us. There has been a wide range of musicians that we’ve been able to feature and there will be more to come, “ said Ms Taylor-Crawford.

Last Sunday, patrons enjoyed the works of Deon Turnquest, who was back another time on saxophone. There was also a variety of horn players that were featured, as well as a blues singers.

“The audience reception is amazing. It is only a two hour event and we are getting a lot of requests to let it go beyond 8 o’clock because there are just so many musicians to hear from in the short space of time that the guest aren’t ready to leave. We also had Peanuts Taylor, who performed for two weeks already. He’s been around from the old days and he plays the Bongos. He is what we call a percussionist and every time he plays, he gets a standing ovation,” said Ms Taylor-Crawford.

“Next year in March, there is a Jazz festival that is being planned in Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera and it is going to be a huge festival, where we are going to have international and local guests. We wanted the organisers of that event to hear the talent that we have. We don’t want them to go out and bring in all kind of Jazz talent, when we have the talent right here.

She said “Jazz at Jacaranda” was an opportunity for Jazz players and Jazz enthusiasts to come out and hear and see there is a Jazz network here on the island.