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Evolution Of The Other Jazz Events
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St. Lucia Tourist Board
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In 1994 when the organizing committee of the first St Lucia Jazz decided that free daytime entertainment would be a nice touch, they never envisaged that these very events would have grown so much in popularity that they would seem even as rivals of the main festival in size and diversity.
In the early years, these activities were vastly limited to Castries; that is after a disastrous attempt at a straight ahead jazz concert in Soufrière. The local audience was having no part of acclaimed jazz pianist Terrence Blanchard not even for free. That jazz stuff was too esoteric. The sound that filled the midday sun in Castries came from local artistes. There was no stage, no food on sale, no organizational effort. The audiences however, were enthusiastic especially, the elementary school students who have always been part of the Jazz on the Square. The size and enthusiasm of the audiences meant that this event was here to stay.
The addition of foreign acts in 1996 was a crucial moment in the history of the event. It started first with regional acts such Mungel Patasar, Andre Tanker and Michael Boothman and the response was overwhelming. In order to satisfy the demand, open acts from the Cultural Centre were now included. The launching of the event had now been established. A full time organizational structure was therefore in order...... enter the St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce.
It seemed a natural fit to have the Chamber to organize the event as it was being staged in the center of the commercial district and had implications for commerce. With a full time structure came more rapid changes; the addition of a stage, better sound management, food and drink concessions and a craft display and nighttime shows. This all seemed to happen in a blink of an eye. Next was Labowi Promotions and Jazz in the South, adding a whole new touch to the St. Lucia Jazz.
In recent years, the artistic dimension has evolved away from its mainstream and towards a musical style which is clearly afro-caribbean. The organisers are hopeful that a uniquely St. Lucian sound could evolve from this and take its place on centre stage in the Jazz world.
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