Sting & Shaggy: The 44/876 Tour

North Sea Jazz Festival 2018: Reggae Dominates the Second Night...

Sting with Shaggy, Damian Marley and other artists gave their personal touches to the Jamaican rhythm.

The second night of the North Sea Jazz Festival, an event that takes place annually at the World Trade Center, located in Piscadero Bay, Curaçao, had a bit of jazz, a bit of pop, but there was a certain preponderance of artists who fall into reggae and its various offshoots.

The activities began precisely at 7 pm, with performances by singer Patti LaBelle (on the Celia Stage, which is actually an enclosed theater) and saxophonist Kamasi Washington on the Sir Duke Stage – this one located on the beach, with the stunning Caribbean Sea in the background.

The veteran Patti LaBelle, who is 74 years old and has about five decades of career, showed why she is still one of the great voices of soul music and classic R&B. The legendary performer's presentation had room for groove and ballads, and she also recalled her past as a church singer, reserving a moment for gospel music. In addition to her hits, including "What Can You Do For Me," "On My Own," and "You Have a Friend," she offered the audience impeccable and soulful versions of "If You Don't Know Me By Now" (by Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes) and the standard "Over the Rainbow," from the movie The Wizard of Oz.

Naturally, she recalled the big hit “Lady Marmalade” from 1976. At this moment, the artist invited some fans to sing with her, but the chosen ones didn't notice. The most emotional moment of the performance happened when LaBelle returned to gospel to pay tribute to her friend Aretha Franklin, who died on the 16th.

Saxophonist Kamasi Washington is considered one of the great revelations of modern jazz. His work has been compared to that of masters of the style, such as Grover Washington Jr. In the set, the musician brought songs from his acclaimed albums, presenting songs like “Truth”, “Fists of Fury” and “The Rhythm Changes”.

The performances by LaBelle and Washington ended at 8 pm. At this moment, the audience was already heading to the Sam Cooke Stage, the main stage of the event, to watch Jason Derulo's show, scheduled to begin at 8:15 pm. The American hip-hop and contemporary R&B singer came with a performance full of radio hits, including “Wiggle”, “Don’t Wanna Go Home”, “Talk Dirty” and “Want to Want Me”. He also performed “Swalla”, his latest single.

Derulo's show was one of the most fun and energetic so far at the festival. He follows the line of what could be called “ostentatious R&B”, with lyrics talking about success, sex and money. The singer brought a troupe of dancers and the movement on stage was intense.

At 9:30 pm, two more simultaneous shows took place. On the Celia Stage was Spyro Gyra, one of the main names in jazz fusion from the 1970s. And on the beach, at Sir Duke, Damian “Jr. Gong Marley, one of the many children of Bob Marley who tried their luck in the arts. There were two completely different performances, but both very interesting musically.

Bob Marley's youngest son followed the sonic tradition of roots reggae. The musician presented some well-chosen classic songs from his father's repertoire, for example, the fiery "War." He celebrated marijuana in "Medication" and addressed social injustice in "Justice" and "Living it Up." He also played some tracks from his most recent album, Stony Hill. In the midst of this, he issued many slogans about Jah and about Rastafarian culture. The singer closed everything in great style with "Welcome to Jamrock." Despite the somewhat militant speech, his sound is very relaxed, with the beautiful harmonies created by the musician's band floating through the Caribbean atmosphere. And Marley is a first-rate showman, rocking out all the time and demonstrating surprising energy.

Spyro Gyra's show demanded a certain degree of concentration, but the group's sound is also smooth as a breeze most of the time, especially when the musicians flirt with cool jazz and even bossa jazz. The artists are virtuosos, and each note or chord is executed with phenomenal precision. The troupe, led by saxophonist Jay Beckstein and keyboardist Tom Schuman, who have been with SG since the beginning, played tracks such as the elaborate "Morning Dance" and "Song for Lorraine." The large audience that filled the Celia theater left completely impressed with the quartet's performance.

As everyone knows, the trio The Police had a strong reggae influence. What no one could have expected is that Sting, former bassist and vocalist of the famous English band, would one day release an album totally immersed in the Jamaican atmosphere. This happened earlier this year when the English musician came with 44/876, a reggae pop CD that he shares with Jamaican Shaggy, one of the most successful names in dancehall.

The unlikely duo presented the show together starting at 10:45 pm on the Sam Cooke Stage. Their album is quite interesting, and there was curiosity to see how it would work live. Sting and Shaggy started this tour recently, performing during the North American summer, and the duo is still smoothing out the rough edges. Sometimes their union becomes somewhat incongruous, and at other times, it even works. The performance features tracks from 44/876 and also shines a spotlight on solo moments from the two stars. In this part, one collaborates with the other, and the result is quite different. From the album they made together, they played tracks like “Dreaming in The U.S.A.”, “Morning is Coming” and “Waiting for the Break of Day”. Sting gave an overview of his solo career with “Englishman in New York”, “Desert Rose” and others. He remembered The Police in “Message in a Bottle”, “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”, “Every Breath You Take” and more. Among Shaggy's solo hits were “Hey Sexy Lady” and “Angel”.

After Sting and Shaggy left the main stage, around midnight, a large part of the audience had already begun to leave the vicinity of the World Trade Center and go home. But there was still the performance of the Puerto Rican singer Daddy Yankee on the Sir Duke Stage. The show was actually supposed to be by the Jamaican Sean Paul, but he cancelled his appearance at the last minute. A reasonable number of people headed there and, as usually happens on this stage next to the Caribbean Sea, the atmosphere is always more relaxed. Instead of just watching the show, the audience preferred to dance to the hits of the artist, who is considered the king of reggaeton. The atmosphere was much more festive than festival-like. “Rompe”, “Dura”, “Shaky Shaky” and “Baila Y Sensual” were some of the highlights of Daddy Yankee's energetic performance. It wasn't a very long show, and it proved suitable to close the night. The North Sea Jazz Festival ends this Saturday, the 1st, with Burt Bacharach, Grace Jones, KC and The Sunshine Band, Christina Aguilera and others.

(c) Rolling Stone Brazil by Paulo Cavalcanti