Black classical music

THE QUALITY of jazz depends on the musicianship of the players, not on the sophistication of the instruments it is played on.

Over the years, the idiom has changed through orchestration and the development of a specialised technique which is, by character, American. And in this process, new instruments have been introduced.

Today's jazz bands owe much to the popular music genre and the ballroom, rather than the originators of jazz out of southern United States.

The instrumentation developed over the years is mainly from the northern and western parts of the USA, which utilises more instruments, including the saxophone and piano, with influences from the ragtime vaudeville and dance bands of the early 1900s.

The piano is seen as the only instrument capable of giving a complete jazz performance unaccompanied and is synonymous with such great jazz bandleaders as Duke Ellington and Fats Waller. The other instrument that features in the sound is the saxophone. However, musicians such as Louis Armstrong improved on the traditional presentation.

Although the basic piano/saxophone combination remained, rhythm units were created using the piano, guitar, bass and drums.

In Jamaica, the love for jazz has seen a number of events getting good support each year. One such is the Jamaica Ocho Rios Jazz Festival, which is set to unfold on Saturday, June 10 at the Hilton Kingston Hotel, promoted as Carreras Jazz Charity, proceeds of which are to go to the Bustamante Hospital For Children. The show will feature the Diva - No Man's band, an all-female group.

The action will shift to the Almond Tree Restaurant and Gardens, Ocho Rios, on Sunday, June 11, featuring the Antelope Valley Big Band, Jimmy McGriff and Hank Crawford, among others.

Jazz shows and luncheons continue in Ocho Rios, Montego Bay, Negril and Kingston throughout the week and the festival will culminate on Father's Day, June 18 at the Almond Tree Gardens, with a line-up of artistes, including Irene Reid, Dean Fraser, Jazztet and The Fins Blues Band.

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