- CARLINGTON WILMOT/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
One of the members of the L'Acadco Macko Jombe Drummers gets involved with the audience at the Jazz and Blues in the Park event held at Emancipation Park, New Kingston, recently.FROM THE moment she stepped on to the stage at Emancipation Park in New Kingston, Sista Monica Parker, 'the lioness of the blues', had the audience rocking. The Jazz and Blues in the Park concert, which took place on Friday, was the culminating event of the Embassy of the United States of America in Kingston, for Black History Month celebrations.
Before Sista Monica's arrival on the stage the audience had been treated to the wonderful skills of first, Harold Butler and later the Maurice Gordon Group. The Jamaica School of Music 'A' Band was the opening act and there was also a performance from the L'Acadco Macko Jombe Drummers who treated the audience to Kumina, Brukins and other Afro-Caribbean rhythms.
THE REASON
In a brilliant yellow outfit, she arrived on the stage and declared, "Yeah everybody Sista Monica come to town." Then she launched into an upbeat song detailing the reason behind her arrival. As she dug into the depths of her contralto, the audience's enthusiastic response declared they had been waiting for her to "light [their] fire".
"I tell you I haven't seen this many black folk in a long time," she told the audience, declaring that it made her feel at home. Sista Monica, who has toured Italy, France, Holland, Germany and Turkey, pointed out that, while on the road, seeing as many black faces as were at the park made her happy.
Later in the show, she said that she was a woman who spoke her mind. That was quite clear from her second song This Sister Don't Play. The song was greeted with whoops as Sista Monica sang that she is the one in charge in a relationship. Soon the audience were clapping and singing the chorus along with her.
The performance was largely a highly energetic one with Sista Monica engaging the audience in easy banter between songs. In true blues tradition, Never Say Never contained almost equal parts talking and singing as she detailed an attempted seduction prompted by that "three month been broke up feelin".
VARIETY
Sista Monica delved into various kinds of blues, swinging from rock and roll to jazz-flavoured and even traditional blues and funk. She explained that a part of the joy of being before a large black audience is that they would understand her need to go back to her roots. With that she delivered an a cappella version of Amazing Grace.
When the first notes of Three Little Birds started the audience were clearly caught by surprise and their shouts of delight suggested it was a welcome one. By then the night was coming to an end and Sista Monica delivered Put Your Shoe on the Other Foot then she rendered her final song of the night Everything Must Change.
Much of the audience took it as the signal to leave and it acted as the recessional song. "It's nice to be walking out of the park to the sound of the blues," declared one woman. Like her, much of the audience was scurrying toward the parking lot to avoid being stuck at the tail end of what would certainly be a long line of traffic.
