Well-known Jamaican bassist and vocalist Benjy Myaz spent Christmas in Anguilla, doing what he does best - playing bass guitar as part of an all-star band put together by Anguillan reggae legend, Bankie Banx.

Myaz also served as the band director for this series, which played at the Dune Preserve Winter Series in the small Caribbean island.

Myaz, who recently launched his Long Story Short album in Kingston, joined world-renowned and another All-Star Band member, pianist Onaje Allan Gumbs, who has made the first cut for the 48th Annual Grammy Awards in 10 different categories, including Best Jazz Album and Best Pop Instrumental. Onaje is being honoured for his self-produced work on his album, Remember Their Innocence.

Banx, father of West Indian cricketer Omari Banx, pioneered reggae music in the Eastern Caribbean, with the release of his first album, Roots and Herbs in 1977.

His musical résumé is impressive, beginning with his first number one hit in 1977, and followed by several chart-topping songs over the next few years. Bankie joined an elite fraternity. He has also performed with several top-drawer Jamaican artistes and was a featured artiste at Reggae Sunsplash in 1983 and again in 1992.

He was featured during a live Sunsplash performance in the ground-breaking reggae documentary Cool Runnings.
In 1991, Banx launched the first annual Moonsplash Music Festival, which celebrated its fifteenth anniversary in February 2005.

The event, scheduled for a March 2006 renewal, has become one of the premier music festivals in the Eastern Caribbean and has featured internationally revered artistes including: Richie Havens, Rita Marley, The Bacon Brothers, Black Uhuru, Freddie McGregor, Peter Cetera, Third World, Culture, Marcia Griffith, Derek Morgan, Burning Spear, The Wailers and Toots and the Maytals. Myaz is expected back on Moonsplash line-up for next year, which will also feature Gumbs and Third World great Stephen 'Cat' Coore.

Banx resides in Anguilla, and owns the Dune Preserve, where the concert series is held. The Dune Preserve has been described by Elle Magazine UK as "the coolest place in the Caribbean´´.

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