LAST October, the Mood Indigo Band sailed in from Trinidad and Tobago to woo the Guyanese lovers of traditional American Jazz and Blues. The concert here was a resounding success and memories of that evening are still fresh in the minds of those who experienced the band's music.
Those who yearn for a repeat performance, and those who had missed the first concert, now have an opportunity to see Mood Indigo on March 19 on the lawns of Castellani House. The band will take to the stage at 20:00 hrs.
Group members, Americans David and Joyce Davis, and Trinidadians Winston Matthew and Russell Durity, sailed into Guyana Friday in the Davis' 38-ft sloop 'Mood Indigo' as part of a four-yacht flotilla. They will be here until March 29.
While anchoring in the Essequibo River, the couple - vocalist Joyce and trumpeter David - will team up with British keyboard player, Tony Gregory, Guyanese Herbie Marshall on guitar, Durity and Matthews on bass and drums respectively, Anthony Adams on flute and Tony Woodruff on saxophone, for the international evening of traditional American Jazz and Blues music.
Mood Indigo performs the one art form that is uniquely American, with its roots in the rhythms and tonalities of Africa. With blue notes added to the mix in New Orleans, this music, with some influence from the conventional European tradition, developed independently. Blues and Jazz, while performed worldwide, will always be recognised as very American.
David and Joyce Davis are live-aboard cruising sailors, sailing on their 38-ft sloop, Mood Indigo. They named their boat in honour of the great jazz musician/composer Duke Ellington. Mood Indigo was one of Duke's hit in 1935. They have been sailing to Trinidad over the past 10 years for hurricane seasons. As the boat sails from island to island, they welcome professionally qualified local musicians to participate in what they believe is a cultural exchange.
The group travels the islands in the region. Usually, two or three seminars on jazz and blues are scheduled, dealing with the history of this music, performance characteristics and, drawing upon their inclusive record collection, examples of performance by great American artists, past and present.
Mood Indigo has performed extensively in the Caribbean Islands of Dutch St. Maarten and French St. Martin, Grenada, Barbados, Curacao, St. Vincent and Trinidad.
Tickets for the concert are $2 000 and are available at National Cultural Centre, Courts (Main Street) and Castellani House.
Proceeds from the event will be donated to the Guyana Rugby Union to support their National Seven's Team's participation in the North American and West Indies Rugby World Cup qualifying championship in Cayman Islands, June 2004.