St. Lucia Jazz Festival

Welcome to Road Trip, a special series where we get to vicariously go Rockin' Down the Highway with antiMusic's Kevin Wierzbicki as he takes us along on his road trips to various rockin' locales that played an significant part in the history of rock n roll, highlight that history or music's heritage. (Unless noted all photos are also by Kevin - click on photos to enlarge). 
 

When Christopher Columbus sailed up to this lush island in the Caribbean Sea he did so on the religious holiday known as the Feast of St. Lucy and the country has been known as St. Lucia ever since. It’s not for certain what Columbus had for dinner that night, but if he truly wanted a feast, all he had to do was look around him. On St. Lucia you’re never more than a stone’s throw away from a bountiful harvest that includes bananas, coconuts, mangos, pineapple, cashews and calabash to name but a few of her mouth-watering edibles. And that’s not to mention the delightful menu that waits in her waters---Chris and his crew might have had a delicious meal of fish and fresh crab that evening. In many ways St. Lucia has not changed since Columbus landed---all of the sensory delights are still there waiting to be discovered. But now the treats include a feast for the ears, too, in the form of the St. Lucia Jazz Festival.

St. Lucia is a relatively tiny island, tear-drop shaped and less than thirty miles long from top to bottom. The country’s International airport is at the southern tip of the island and most of the spots visitors want to see are all along the west coast. The main area of commerce is the city of Castries on the northwestern coast, and here, at the adjacent Rodney Bay, is where the St. Lucia Jazz Festival is held. The drive to the area is amazingly scenic as roads swoop up and down mountainsides, twisting and turning through high mountain passes, rain forest and quaint residential areas. It’s a good idea to have a camera ready at all times on the ride as views of the Caribbean pop in and out of sight and the majestic Piton Mountains rise from the sea. You might even catch a glimpse of a St. Lucia parrot, native to St. Lucia only. And speaking of native, boa constrictors are found naturally on the island as well and you may come across a young man by the roadside with one slung across his shoulders. Basically, travel in St. Lucia is a constant adventure with surprises around every corner.

The first thing you’ll need (okay, maybe the second---a cold, locally brewed Piton Beer might be the first) is a base of operations. Even though you won’t be spending much time in your room, a nice hotel is a good thing to return to after a day at play in the sun. Rodney Bay’s Coco Palm Hotel is a great place to unpack being that it’s very near the beach and the shopping and nightlife area. The hotel itself has wonderful amenities like private roof-top dining, spa treatments, and some rooms have swim-up entries! That means you can walk out onto your terrace, jump directly into the pool and swim up to the bar, beside which steel-drum group Pantime puts a Caribbean lilt to songs like “On Broadway” and Paul Desmond’s famous jazz interlude, “Take Five.” And if you can’t leave the mainland behind for too long (silly you!) the Coco Palm has news available on satellite television and the world at your fingertips with a Wi-Fi connection. www.coco-resorts.com

This year the St. Lucia Jazz Festival celebrated its fifteenth anniversary and some very big names in entertainment made appearances. The festival has grown to include performers of many different genres as opposed to hosting just jazz acts. Two of the most anticipated shows this year, especially among the younger folks, were sets by Ciara and Rihanna. Ciara nearly put the crowd into a coma with a rendition of her massive hit “Goodies” while Rihanna, who played on a different day, got an especially loud crowd response. Not only is she a major pop music star but the St. Lucians love her because she is from the nearby island of Barbados. Rhythm and blues legend Al Green treated the crowd to some sun-drenched soul and Seal closed out the festival with his alternative rock. Seal also is a big local favorite as his mother is from another nearby island, St. Vincent. But of jazz there was plenty with Kenny Garrett, Nancy Wilson and Poncho Sanchez treating the crowd as did the great pianist and singer (and brother of Nat King Cole) Freddy Cole. Cole had the audience eating out of his hand from the very beginning, perhaps because he serenaded them with a heartfelt rendition of Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are.” The favorite among jazz enthusiasts seemed to be Stanley Jordan, and with good reason. With his unique finger-picking style, the guitarist is mesmerizing visually as well as sonically. And in a move that totally stunned the fans, Jordan at one point sat down at the piano and tickled the ivories with his right hand while his left continued to pluck at his guitar fret board. Some of the other acts who played this year were Babyface, Michael Boothman, the First Call All-star band featuring James Lloyd of Pieces of a Dream, and Ronald “Boo” Hinkson. Lots of regional acts got a chance to perform as well, both on the main stage and in Castries at Derek Walcott Square. In a nice move by the local school district, the children of Castries were given the day off from school and got to come to the square to hear an afternoon’s worth of music including a set by sax man Tim Cunningham. Of course there is more to the festival than just music; arts and crafts and souvenirs, commemorative t-shirts, food of all sorts, rum drinks and Piton Beer abound as seemingly the whole island taps into the positive energy surrounding the music. www.stluciajazz.org

No trip to St. Lucia is complete without a visit to the magnificent Piton Mountains. The two matching peaks stick out like inverted ice-cream cones except that they are green with vegetation. The peaks are climbable and arrangements can be made for guided hikes, but that’s for the very fit and very adventurous. You can drive the coast road to the village of Soufriere to see the peaks and have lunch while you’re at it. The most stunning view of the mountains with the Caribbean in the background is afforded from the open-air dining room at Dasheene, the award-winning restaurant at the Ladera Resort. Between the food and the view this will be one of the most memorable meals you will ever have. www.ladera.com  Other attractions in the area include the Toraille waterfalls and the Sulphur Springs “drive-in” volcano where you can see hot mud bubbling up from the earth where lava once flowed. As an alternative way to get to Soufriere, you might choose to come down by speedboat. Freespirit Charters offer a variety of cruises down the west coast including one to fabled Marigot Bay. Described by James Michener as “the most beautiful bay in the Caribbean,” Marigot Bay has long been known as a “hurricane hole,” a safe harbor for ships caught in a storm. It is also where portions of the original Dr. Dolittle movie was filmed and is currently home to another great place to have lunch, the Rainforest Hideaway. 
www.discoverystlucia.com If you’re lucky, the Freespirit’s Captain, Christian Richings, will join you for lunch and regale you with stories of the sea. Oh yes, the good Captain has plenty of bubbly on board his ship to keep you from getting too thirsty (yes, and ice cold Piton Beer!) www.freespirit-charters.com 

While you’re out and about, you may notice that St. Lucian automobile license plates carry the slogan “Helen of the Caribbean.” The reference is comparing St. Lucia’s beauty to that of Helen of Troy, and the parallel is not that of idle boasting. It’s a wonder that Christopher Columbus ever left. www.stlucia.org