THE 2015 staging of the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival came to an exciting climax in the early hours of Sunday morning at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium.

The final of the three-night festival could have been dubbed the Charlie Wilson show, as the electrifying performance of the lanky American ‘soulster’ was on everyone’s lips. However, truth be told, all the five acts on the night’s bill performed amazing sets, but Wilson was the clear standout.

Following the previous night’s performance by American superstar Mariah Carey, which did not live up to expectations the night before, the jazz audience was looking for that memorable performance for the festival and found it in Wilson, the former lead singer for the 70s R&B aggregation, The Gap Band. His set, which lasted for well over an hour, saw patrons singing and dancing to his past and current hits.

From the moment he stepped onto the stage, it seemed as if Wilson was in beast mode and willing to make amends for the failings of his fellow American the night before. Along with his four energetic, female dancers and an impressive backing band, Uncle Charlie dropped Early in the Morning Beautiful, My Lady, My Love, You Dropped the Bomb on Me, My Name is Charlie, and There Goes My Baby.

Halfway through his set, Wilson asked how many would attend another one of his performances and the audience burst into spontaneous applause. This clearly re-fuelled him and he just continued dropping the hits and putting on a show.

Having had a chequered past involving drug and alcohol abuse, as well as being a prostate cancer survivor, Wilson went into gospel mode… singing, dancing, clapping and kicking off his shoes as he gave thanks, and the audience enjoyed every moment and chanted his name at the end of a thoroughly entertaining set.

Those who doubted the ability of The Pointer Sisters to close the night, and indeed the festival, in fine style were left eating their words at 3:00 am on Sunday.

The trio — which comprises original singer Ruth Pointer and her daughter Issa and granddaughter Sadako — had patrons singing and dancing to the hits that the sisters made popular during the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s.

They too possibly got word that the festival was in need of a show-stopping moment and, therefore, came out with guns blazing from the opening note.

They thrilled with He’s So Shy, Automatic, Slow Hand, a cover of Aretha Franklin’s Chain of Fools, Dare Me, I’m So Excited and Neutron Dance. They would return for an encore and treat the dancing patrons to Jump and their rendition of Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves.

They held their audience, engaging in lively banter and eliciting that signature warm Jamaican response from the thousands in attendance… exactly what the audience deserved.

Following Charlie Wilson, and prior to The Pointer Sisters, the audience was treated to the mastery of former Chicago lead singer Peter Cetera.

He too, although not as high energy as the acts between which he was sandwiched, had the patrons loving every minute of his performance. His smooth vocals have not faded with the years, and he gave many that ‘I know that song’ moment.

His hit single, The Glory of Love was high up in his set and set the stage for all that was to come.

What followed were Chicago hits including Only a Fool Can See, If You Leave Me Now, Hard Habit to Break and the monster track You’re the Inspiration. In between he dropped duets After All, which he originally recorded with Cher, and Next Time I Fall In Love, which was done with Amy Grant.

Cetera’s brother Kenny was also in the house, and dropped two tracks from the Chicago catalogue which were well received.

For those who came into the stadium early, they were treated to the music of Canadian group Magic!.

The band from the Land of the Maple Leaf were making their local debut and did their best to make a good impression. Bolstered by their global hit Rude, they were able to weave their way into hearts of their Jamaican fans.

Grammy-nominated reggae band Soja were also impressive on their Jamaican debut. The American aggregation dropped their brand of music on the patrons who responded with appreciation.