The Ruth Seaton James auditorium was the scene of a simply spectacular exhibition of instrumental expertise on Saturday night. That was when James Richardson performed his annual showcase of world class Bermudian musical mastery - along with a few of his closest friends.

The show started just slightly late (which worked out perfectly for me because that meant that I didn't miss anything this time), when Bootsie emerged from the left side of the ample stage and proceeded to bombard us with his hilarious brand of local humour. He gave us a small taste of his considerable talent and then turned our attention to his co-host for the evening, the equally funny Ndanja Bailey. These two were on form throughout the night, providing excellent entertainment between acts, and enhancing the show by no small measure. It was really good to see Bermudian stand-up comedy again as well.

The first scheduled act was a short fashion showcase by designer Lincoln Raynor, featuring clothing from his imprint, REL Designs. The set was interesting and featured styles which were left over from the Revelations 2002 show back in May. This crowd was very receptive to the clothing as well as the models, who carried themselves well and delivered a nice little opening set.

Next on the programme was the excellent Youth Jazz Band.

This four piece ensemble delivered three fabulous pieces of instrumental magic, culminating in the sensational ‘Summertime', which featured Mr. Alan Brown on percussion. The original foursome was made up of the soulful John Lee Jr. on bass guitar, the funky Leroy Francis on the keys, the rhythmic Andwele Simons behind the drums and the inspirational Raynika Brangman on the saxophone.

Their set was short, sweet and very impressive. Each of these youngsters should receive international acclaim within the next five years; let's encourage them to stick with it shall we? Bootsie slid in with a short set of his too-rare-for-words stand-up next, giving us every opportunity to bust a gut just prior to intermission.

The end of the fifteen minute intermission bought with it the sweet sense of anticipation as Ndanja had already revealed that we were about to see a seventeen piece band of the highest quality.

The opening piece did not disappoint, even if it was just an introductory piece. The six-part harmony delivered adequate vocal accompaniment for the ten piece orchestra, collaborating to produce a big, live sound that thrilled the 500 or so souls who attended this very special event.

The energy was immediately astronomical, and would have kept us yearning for more even if the music hadn't been so magnificent; but rest assured, the music was magnificent. The first piece that wasn't an introductory piece was an awesome rendition of Prince's ‘The Groove Principle'. This was our first taste of the mad flavour that these musicians had in store. This piece provided ample opportunity for each artist to flex on the solo tip (the players of instruments played solos during this piece, George). The brass section (Lionel Edwards on sax, Tarik on trumpet and Graham Maule on trombone) delivered big blasts of regal noise throughout this piece, and Wencey Woolridge was outstanding on bass, while Kevin Maybury and Darryl Simons also raised the roof on the drums and organ respectively.

The next piece, ‘Welcome Home', featured heartfelt vocals by Osibisa and an enthralling interpretative dance by the massively talented Taitu Wilson - a very nice piece. ‘Rogue' was a piece that featured the awe-inspiring stylings of James on the Grand Piano, Kevin and Wencey ... simply marvellous.

Then there was James' collaboration with the incomparable Mitchell Trott. The piece was called simply ‘Live Wire' (which also happens to be Mitchell's nickname) and it basically involved Wire doing his thing as James tickled the keys in strange and subtle ways. Wire's energy, James' subtlety and their combined style conspired to make this piece an instant highlight, and the show was just warming up! ‘Freedom' got the audience into the show in no small way. This was a reggae-infused masterpiece of a song, complete with a repetitive chorus that did a lot to emphasize the writer's (James') overwhelming desire to be free. A heavy metal piece followed, and the band let loose for real during this very courageous act. The song was ‘Anywhere I Roam', which was written by James Hatfield and originally performed by Metallica. Duane DeMello delivered an especially powerful performance on lead guitar during this piece, while James recreated the screaming lyrics to the best of his ability (he has the voice of a master ‘keyboardist', what can I say?).

‘Alright' and ‘See Her Now' were both soul-moving delights. Both pieces were written by James and the former featured scene-stealing percussion displays by both Robert Sai and Dennis Moniz. ‘See Her Now' highlighted the considerable vocal abilities of Lloyd Holder (the only male voice in the faceless choir) and a very ‘Sade' feeling arrangement.

The next piece was perhaps the only mis-step of the evening. This was a Latin-tinged rendition of Angie Stone's magnificent ‘No More Tears'. The idea to turn this piece into a ‘jam' was one that should never have left the drawing board. The harsh vocals from Dennicka Albouy didn't help much either, although Lloyd did do his best to smooth things out again. Suffice to say I was quite happy to hear that particular piece fade out.

With the merciful end of that torturous bit, came the start of a quite powerful piece that featured a well delivered poem by the venerable Pat Pogson. The piece was entitled ‘So Why?', and the message was one of substance over style in the pursuit of self knowledge. The audience received the poem well and many of them stood to express their appreciation for Pat's inspiring words.

James made a donation to Ms. Fern Wade, of the Hands of Love Ministries, prior to his impromptu closing piece, aptly titled ‘August 10, 2002'. His act of kindness and compassion was exactly the kind of thing that would close this show in style and with substance (a combination that is as rare as it is beautiful).

When the band stopped playing, Bootsie came on stage and implored the departing audience to ‘spread the word' - our local talent is exceedingly worthy of our support. That's something I've been preaching for quite a while now ... wake up and live people, our musicians need you!

Vejay Steede