MUSIC lovers and swimming enthusiasts will be treated to an eclectic combination of aquatic art and music for the first ever Music ‘n’ Sync show to be held on Sunday March 14 at the Hilton Poolside.

Jamaican-born jazz pianist Orville Hammond will headline the event along with local artistes, drummer Desi Jones and bassist Dale Haslam completing the jazz trio. Island Aquatics synchronised swimmers are slated to perform a gala exhibition. This will include three senior swimmers who received the Prime Minister’s Youth Award for Excellence. The line-up also includes violinist Nadje Leslie, vocal artistes Voicemail, the dynamic duo of Jodian Pantry and Noddy Virtue as well as the L’Acadco Dancers.

Hammond, a distinguished jazz performer and composer, currently resides in Lexington Kentucky. Of his playing, the Jamaica Journal says “The creative line is always firm and his musical gestures are clear and communicative”. Hailed by the Knoxville News-Sentinel as “… a pleasant surprise …” in a review of his Knoxville performances, Hammond has opened for Bill Cosby, Tony Bennett and Gary Burton among others.

After starting piano in Jamaica at age seven, Hammond earned prestige at a young age, with diplomas awarded by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, under the tutelage of the late Jamaican pianist, Fay Ennever-Robotham. He received gold and silver medals for performances in classical and jazz music competitions and began his professional career as pianist-in-residence at the Jamaica Playboy Club. At Oberlin College, Ohio, where he earned the Bachelor of Music, Hammond studied with pianists Frances Walker and Sanford Margolis. He holds the Master of Music in Jazz Performance from the Eastman School of Music.

Hammond has been a teacher of piano and jazz at several schools of music, including extended appointments at the Edna Manley College for the Performing Arts in Kingston, and the University of Kentucky. He opened this millennium with a New York debut in the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

Island Aquatics Synchro Club, the first synchronised swimming club in Jamaica (since 1998) in association with the Hilton Hotel and Guardian Life will be hosting the event, proceeds of which will go towards the development of synchronised swimming.

The show starts at 4:00 pm.