Cayman Jazz Fest

Though the connection to "jazz" is tenuous - this is really about artists who get played on "smooth jazz" and "quiet storm" radio stations, which is something different from "jazz" jazz entirely - there are worse ways to spend a few summer days than at the very first Cayman Jazz Fest, which runs June 17-19 on Grand Cayman island in the Caribbean.

Roberta Flack, David Sanborn, Bob James, Freddie Jackson, BeBe Winans, (Cleveland's own!) Eddie Levert, Cuban big band Charanga Habanera, and contemporary Caymanian artists will all gently rock the beautiful Pageant Beach location.

The schedule is as follows:

Thursday, June 17
Noon ­ 2pm:
Free Lunch Time Concert

7pm - 12am:
After Dark
BeBe Winans
Eddie Levert

Friday, June 18
8pm - 1am:
Intransit
Charanga Habanera
Freddie Jackson

Saturday, June 19
6pm - 11pm:
Notch & Club Dred
Bob James
David Sanborn
Roberta Flack

Bios of the artists are on the festival site here, and here are bios on the local Cayman groups who will be participating:

Intransit
The band Intransit has been around since the year 2000. During that time the band has performed at every major venue on Grand Cayman and due to its busy schedule, has found it difficult to even get to the sister islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.

Intransit has quite a following and is known as the first call band for any major occasion. This is due to the fact, that the members are in the top echelon of musicians on the music scene in the Caymans.

Leader, saxophonist, percussionist and backup vocalist of the band Gary Ebanks, is Caymanian and has been around the scene for quite some time. Though only starting to play music in his mid twenties, he had studies with the internationally know saxophonist, arranger and educator Bobby Watson and also bassist Curtis Lundy both of whom actually inspired him to start playing music while studying architecture at the University of Miami. Gary has worked in Florida and New York with local bands. He also led his own groups in New York. This is a period that he considers his growth period, while looking all the time to return to his islands to help develop the scene and expand the musical concepts of the musicians on the islands. He has been at the forefront of the development of jazz in the Caymans since the early seventies. Gary is also a prolific composer. He has several tunes which have had airplay and can also be heard on many local recordings.

Bassist and lead vocalist of the band Roger (Bugs) Wilson is Jamaican, but has spent the last fifteen years in the Cayman Islands after arriving there with a touring band from Jamaica. He is a well known and respected bassist in Jamaica having worked with Shabba Ranks, the Mighty Diamonds, Lovingdeer (Wild Gilbert album) and Kimani Marley to name a few. This makes him a first call for groups coming to the islands who are in need of a bassist. Bugs toured worldwide with his fellow Jamaican artist before putting down roots in the Caymans. When he teamed up with Gary in the early ninetys, it was his first excursion into the idioms of the jazz world and has spent most of his time since, working with Gary in many different musical configurations, from duos, to nine piece groups.

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Article Author: Eric Olsen

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