Ralph Holding Jr joins 'Simply Myrna' cast

With the musical expertise of guest arranger and conductor Ralph Holding Jr, patrons attending the third annual Simply Myrna revue on March 9 will experience yet another first-class musical production to be staged at the Courtleigh Auditorium in New Kingston.

Leading the musical accompaniment will be the highly respected musician Marjorie Whylie on piano and drummer extraordinaire Desi Jones.

The show is under the distinguished patronage of Sir Kenneth and Lady Hall, sister of brothers Ralph Holding Jr and Hall of Fame West Indies bowler Michael Holding.

The multitalented Holding credits his teachers such as Lennie Hibbert, Cannonball Bryan, Billy Cook, and Cecil Lloyd, who he said helped him to hone his musical skills on trumpet and piano and corrected all the flaws and bad habits which he had developed over the years.

EARLY WORK

In his early years, Holding played with school bands and later with popular bands such as Roland Alphanso and the Soul Brothers, Tommy McCook and the Supersonics, and others on Jamaica's north coast.

Holding has also performed on the international circuit in places such as Germany, Austria, France, Poland and Romania before he returned to Jamaica in 1994, performing at the Ritz-Carlton for seven years.

The two-and-a-half-hour-long Simply Myrna is to feature the legendary vocalists John Holt on the Kingston leg of the show and Ernie Smith in Mandeville on March 16.

Also making a guest appearance will be the Cari-Folk Singers,

The show is being sponsored by the generous support of The Gleaner Company Limited, Mega Mart in Kingston and Mandeville, Jamaica National, KLAS Sport Radio FM, Kool FM, CVM TV, the Spanish Court Hotel, Isle Chix, Golf View Hotel, and Stage Records

Tickets for the show are at a cost of $3,500 and are available at Music Mart on South Avenue, the Jazz Centre (927-3544), the Golf View Hotel in Mandeville, Fontana Pharmacy and Stephenson's Flowers and Gifts, in Manchester Shopping Centre.