Seretse Small set to lead ‘An Amazing Night of Music’

His surname is Small, but Seretse is a musical giant. For years, the accomplished musician and music educator has stood tall on Jamaica’s musical landscape, mesmerising audiences worldwide with his eclectic sound. Tonight at 8 p.m., he and his friends will present ‘An Amazing Night of Music’ at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.

Joining him for the event, produced by Soul Sage, are Dean Fraser, Alicia Taylor, Oshane Love, Sheldon Bernard, Wendell Lawrence and Carlton Jarrett. Vocalist and instrumentalist Harold Davis will also make a special appearance.

Herbie Miller, music connoisseur and director and curator of the Jamaica Music Museum, said, “Bringing the vision to reality is an elite ensemble capable of inventive melodic extension, varied harmonic contours, fine textural gradation, and instantaneous rhythmic flexibility; a combination of musicians with individual dexterity and tight, telepathic group cohesion, from whom much is anticipated.”

Small will lead the ensemble on guitar while Fraser, Sanley Calunga and Lukel Miller carry the saxophone lines. Romeo Gray on trombone and Hopeton Williams on trumpet complete the horn section. Bernard on keyboards, Jarrett on bass and Lawrence on drums will anchor the rhythm section. Keyboardist Harold Davis will step up to the microphone for a special vocal performance, supported by Victoria Taffe, Ashley Brown and Jocal Dyer.

Miller said the show is designed in five sections: love, guilt and vulnerability; freedom and oppression; fun, spontaneity and improvisation; and sound system rockers and Latin grooves. Each section will have its own musical and emotional character.

“The primary theme is transcendental and the complexity that it encompasses. As an arranger, he (Small) aims for a deeply painterly, compositional, textural, and impressionistic approach. By employing timbral contrasting and odd voicing across sections, such as pairing a clarinet with a muted trumpet or a trombone, he creates entirely engaging, composite tone colours,” he said.

Miller also quoted Small as saying, “Music can move from the power and excitement of a big band sound to something delicate, emotional, and almost cinematic. The horns can roar, whisper, surround a singer, lift a melody, or completely change the way a familiar song feels.”

He added: “The fundamental difference in his orchestration lies in deploying five separate timbres: trombone, trumpet, tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones, without doubling any of the instruments. This choice poses distinct challenges, which Small acknowledges with acute awareness.”

Miller described Small “as a deeply reflective musician whose eclecticism spans the breadth of the idiomatic vernacular to the periphery of avant-pop”.

“Grounded in rich jazz harmonies, his work consistently creates ample opportunity for individual expression within the varied, shifting contexts of his arrangements. Since his convincing reappearance at Thursday Jazz [Night] at Pegasus a few months ago, followed by a standout concert at the Bank of Jamaica and a marquee-filled jazz and poetry ensemble performance at the Blend Bar, Small has shown a renewed energy,” Miller told The Gleaner.

Miller noted that Small, a Juilliard alumnus, pairs his conservatory training with a deep appreciation for Caribbean music and cultural traditions.

“Whether drawing on the infectious syncopation of mento, the lively pulse of ska, the groove of reggae, or the intricate polyrhythms of Kumina and Nyabinghi, alongside influences from funk and R&B, his arrangements weave together elements that anchor his music unmistakably in Caribbean soil,” Miller added.

The producers shared that the concert will “celebrate the breadth and beauty of Jamaican music”. The programme will feature familiar songs alongside new interpretations that bring fresh life to the Jamaican songbook.

entertainment@gleanerjm.com