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Back in We Sister Isle!

With the rumours of Michael & Janet Jackson coming to the Plymouth Jazz '08 Festival long put to bed by the promoters, that still didn't stop the 30,000+ jazz fans from showing up. This being our sophomore year for the festival, we organized our travel and accommodations early o'clock because like last year, everything going to, in and from Tobago was completely sold out for the Jazz Festival Weekend - airlines, boat, rental cars, hotels ... EVERYTHING!!

It was smooth sailing over to Tobago on the T&T Express catamaran on Thursday afternoon. A quick phone call to our Bed & Breakfast (well, it was really just bed ... lol ... okay, the bake n saltfish was irie), we were told to drive down the coastline with specific instructions to look for a white station wagon with the words "MR. BIGGS" on the back. We thought to ourselves, is Jomo (our gracious host for the weekend), calling himself "MR. BIGGS" in Tobago??!! Look ting!! Okay, okay, to our relief, the wagon was a rental by another fren of TJJ that was also staying at the same Bed & Breakfast ... lol. Jomo, yuh get away from a life time of small talk!!!

Thursday & Friday (pre-jazz) was all about getting into the 'Bago Groove' ... local food, sun, beach and lime! Now you would think after last year's experience, we would know that JAZZ STARTS ON TIME! No ifs, ands or buts!!! BUT, it seems that no matter how hard we try, we just cannot take the 'Trini Time' outta we!! The funny thing is that we were late because we were at Kariwak Village Hotel checking our e-mails and sending updates to the website, only to later find out that the good folks at TSTT and Blink provided Internet facilities for the media at the venue. Go figure!

The traffic was slowly flowing up Shirvan Road towards the festival. And like previous years, a large number of shuttles (maxi taxis) lined up on the street near the 1st & 2nd car parks in Black Rock to escort patrons to the Plymouth Recreation Grounds. We arrived at the drop off point around 7:30pm - showtime was 7:00pm - and quickly collected our media accreditations. Is that James Ingram voice we hear? Yes, indeed! The man that gave us hits like "Just Once" and "I Don't Have The Heart" delivered a solid performance before speaking to both local and international media gathered at the event. Ingram give a shout out to Peabo Bryson, who was on stage at the time. This was not good news for Team TJJ - we missed two of the four international acts scheduled for the night! The Plymouth Jazz crowd did enjoy Bryson, who captured hearts with his love ballads, including "Can You Stop The Rain" and Aladdin's theme song, "A Whole New World".

The venue's layout was pretty much the same as last year (see Day 1 2007 coverage), except for the fact that VIP area was a lot larger and covered the entire stage-front area, placing general admission some 800 feet away from the stage. A large number of general admission patrons expressed their dissatisfaction, especially when the large viewing screens were switched off by artists' (such as Diana Ross & Whitney Houston) request. There were also times when the sound system failed, leaving those in the distance without sound.

At the Plymouth Jazz Festival in 2007, Motown Superstar Diana Ross, was asked to cut her performance short. The crowd was shocked and appalled as Diana left the stage in a true diva-like fashion. Was there going to be a repeat in 2008? We're happy to report that Diana was able to do her full one hour presentation, complete with three costume changes and all. The crowd jumped to their feet when Ross graced the stage in her flamboyant, bright red dress. From her signature opening number "I'm Coming Out" to signature closing number "I Will Survive", it was a Hitalotathon® in between. "Upside Down", "Stop In The Name Of Love", "You Keep Me Hangin' On", "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and the theme from Mahogany "Do You Know Where You're Going To". Diana Ross conquered the Tobago stage, ruling the Friday night! And we're pretty certain that the 9,000+ audience would agree!! This included big wigs such as President George Maxwell Richards, Prime Minister Patrick Manning and recently fired Trade & Industry Minister Dr. Keith Rowley (Diego Martin West MP), who was enjoying the evening with his wife in the VIP section.

Next up was Detroit, Michigan born William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. accompanied with two sexy young dancers. Dressed in a light blue suit, with ruffle shirt, Smokey delivered a Hitalotathon® as well. We can clearly remember the audience (young & old) singing along to his 1979 classic "Crusin'". However, unlike Diana's earlier performance, Robinson's act had it's high's and low's as some of the audience members chose to leave before he wrapped up his hour on stage. Not to be misguided, Smokey was amazing, but at times his music was too soothing and for the jazzed up crowd. Remember, LL Cool J closed the Friday show last year with unbelievable energy.

Pulling the curtains down on the night was unarguably the Caribbean's most versatile band, Kes The Band. Although the majority of patrons left (which seems to be the trend once all foreign acts finish perform), Kees and Nadia Batson give a most noteworthy performance, which included their hits like "Our Prayer", "Heads High" and "Lion". It was high energy from start to finish, where Kees at one point climbed onto the fence separating the media pit and VIP sections, singing his 2008 hit "Right Dey" to adoring fans. Nadia Batson remarkably sang Jennifer Hudson's (American Idol) "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (Dreamgirls film). The jazz die-hards that stayed behind, were loving every minute of the band's performance, especially their rendition of Queen's "Bohemain Rhapsody". Kes the Band ... absolutely phenomenal!!!

It was the usual drama to get a shuttle back to the car park - especially since most of the crowd had already left - but we made it. The lime continued at The Shade in Bon Accord, but it was short one since we have to attend the All Inclusive Jazz Cruise early in the morning... dey say boat sailing at 10am ... good gosh!

Chooks aka Army of One
TJJ Plymouth Jazz Frontline

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Related Galleries
Plymouth Jazz Festival 2008 - Friday
Plymouth Jazz Festival 2008 - Saturday
Plymouth Jazz Festival 2008 - Sunday
All Inclusive Jazz Cruise 2008
The Shade - Tobago Jazz '08 Weekend
Beach House - Tobago Jazz '08 Weekend