By Gercine Carter
The Barbados jazz society served up a smorgasbord of Xmas music spiced with Caribbean flavours during its second annual “Jazz Noel” show.
The sold-out event, staged two weeks before Christmas, was the final show on the Society’s 2025 calendar and the audience was appropriately treated to a scintillating night of jazz on which budding young talent occupied the stage along with seasoned, reputable musicians and the result of the work being done by the indefatigable Roger Gittens, composer, arranger and pianist, was showcased.
“Jazz is not just a genre, it is a global language that speaks cultural dialogue, diversity and dignity. It challenges discrimination and empowers youth to be an agent of change,” president of the Jazz Society, Dale Thorpe said in her welcome remarks. She told the scores of jazz fans present that the Jazz Society remained committed to its mission of promoting the art form in Barbados and expanding the reach, as well as to the development of young talent in the island. She added that the monthly jazz evenings had enabled the Society to showcase the brilliance of Barbadian musicians; present instruments to St Leonard’s and Parkinson schools and give financial support to a young Barbadian musician studying at the University of North Carolina’s Department of Music. With a full house eagerly anticipating a jazz treat, vocalist andsongwriter Casheda Dottin (also known as Casheda or Chrissy) set the tone for the evening. The moment she stepped on stage, accompanied by guitarist Jermone Waighe and launched into the first notes of Luther Vandross’ Every Year, Every Christmas, it was the perfect entrée to the main course – the performance by the evening’s headliner, Roger Gittens with his Yuletide Orchestra featuring himself on keyboards; Andre Woodvine, tenor sax/flute; John Matthews, guitar; Erin Hazelwood, trumpet; David Weatherhead and Mark Husbands on trombone; Richard “Bill” Evans, bass and Damani Blenman, drums.
Dottin, the 2020 “Baje to the World” winner whose voice has taken her to several countries, created a swooning mood with Christmas classics such as I’ll Be Home for Christmas, Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You done Dottin style, before launching into a jazzy medley.
In the second session, maestro Gittens, music teacher, composer, arranger and pianist who has headed the BCC’s Performing Arts Department since 1997; composed and arranged works for the Anglican Church, the Moravian Church and the Barbados National Symphony Youth Orchestra and released two CD’s of sacred music, moved into the spotlight, at the keyboards with the musicians in his orchestra taking turns to show off their prowess on their chosen instrument.
“You came to hear an orchestra, so we have a small orchestra with some horns,” Gittens said as he introduced the members.
“For this first set we are going to do quite a few instrumentals. They are all my arrangements so the goal is not just to improvise, but we are going to do my arrangements and thrill you with some Christmas tunes done in a Roger Gittens way,” he announced.
They began with the Santa Claus Medley, in which some of Gittens’ former BCC students showed off the talent they developed and perfected under the maestro’s tutelage.
In this session, Jane Small, a second year student in the BCC’s music programme, whom Gitttens described as “a fantastic classical singer” who joined his ensemble in her second year and blew him away with her “scatting”, took to the microphone and gave a performance which also blew the audience away with her inimitable styling of songs such as Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire.
She had the audience singing along and the band fully engaged.
There were three sets of performances in the show which lasted for close to three hours with intermittent breaks.
In the background adding a sweet note to the evening was “Beyond the Box” a student-run business created by Justise Neuhoff, Ciara Brathwaite and Ria Batson, three Harrison College upper 6th form students participating in the BEF Challenge – with their cupcakes, cookie fries and cookie dips.
