Photo courtesy Don’t Sleep T&T Photography
For this, the third edition of the concert, they chose the theme Remixing the Jam and took the audience on an 85-minute tour that included the genres of gospel, soul, reggae, bhangra, soca and calypso.
It was from the brass section that Martina Chow joined the three tenors to sing Stevie Wonder’s Don’t You Worry Bout A Thing. Later in the show, Kensa James and her trombone took centrestage to sing Anita Baker’s Sweet Love. Sweet Love is an anthem that has embarrassed many a singer who failed to hit the high notes. James nailed those notes and got the audience laughing as she sang “No sweeter love, no sweeter love” to her beloved trombone.

Nigel Floyd, left, is amused as Kensa James sings to her trombone during her rendition of Sweet Love. Photo courtesy Don’t Sleep T&T Photography
Junction Q Jammers is a great ad for this country’s depth of musical talent, and not just the older musicians, but a good crop of young talents as well. The rest of this competent group comprises of Dean Williams (guitar), Natasha Joseph (steelpan), Richard Joseph (drums), Jill-Ann Walters-Morris (keys), Jeremy Macintosh (bass) and Sheena Richardson (percussion).
This well-crafted 85-minute tour around the music world encompassed an eclectic range of songs that included A Song for You (Leon Russell), My First, My Last, My Everything (Barry White), Fantasy (Earth, Wind & Fire), What You Won’t Do For Love (Bobby Caldwell), Skankin Sweet (Chronixx), Three Little Birds (Bob Marley), Steelband Clash (Blakie), Gur Nalo Ishq Mita (Malkit Singh) and this year’s hottest soca hit, Hello (Kes the Band).
Overall, Remixing The Jam gets a thumbs up. The talent is exceptional, the show is tight and professional and it’s a great evening out for music fans of different ages. The thing about QEDTT is that they are a pretty safe bet but I’d like to see them push the envelope a bit more. It’s not a criticism, just an acknowledgement that they’ve got a lot more in them as performers. Maybe some more radical arrangements of the songs or guests who are somewhat out of the box?
If there is a minor criticism of Remixing the Jam, it is that more movement was needed onstage. Cumberbatch, Edwards and Floyd occupy centre stage on their stools for the entire show and it would have been more compelling with maybe a couple of dancers and good choreography to help break the feeling of sameness for the viewing audience.
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