IT was an evening of freshness and inspirational outpouring at the Karl Hendrickson Auditorium, Jamaica College, in St Andrew on April 12 where a concert to aid the McCam Child Development Centre took place.

Proceedings got off to a rousing start thanks to the Immaculate High School Steel Band. They gave lively interpretations of The Drifters’ On The Boardwalk, followed by Part-time Lover, as well as reggae standards Tribal War, Should I and Too Experienced.

It was then time for a healthy serving of traditional folk songs from the Carifolk Singers. They did Hampa, Wheel an’ Tun Mi and Bunion Tree. Classical pianist Andre Campbell gave an interesting take on Hold Him Joe. He later introduced his 13-year-old son, Ashanni, who performed an impressive piano rendition of the classic Ade Alline.

Violinist and noted instrumentalist Jon Williams kept the mood flowing with the spiritual, Just a Closer Walk With Thee, Peanut Vendor and It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Don’t got That Swing) before switching to piano for his version of Foot Prints.

Accompanied by pianist Marjorie Whylie, Jamaica’s first lady of jazz Myrna Hague opened with the jazz standard, St Louis Blues, then tipped her hat in tribute to John Holt with his Only a Smile.

Returning to her favourite idiom, Hague performed That’s Life before closing with a stimulating rendition of the Cha Cha anthem, Sway.

The show closed with an outstanding performance by singer Ernie Smith who delivered an invigorating set around his hit songs from the 1970s such as Pitta Patta, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Jesus Comes For All and Duppy Gunman.

“This concert is for assisting the operational cost of the McCam Child Development Centre. We are an NGO [non governmental organisation), that provides an inclusive learning environment for children from one to eight years old. Friends of McCam came up with the idea to have this event to help us with our cost. It was very successful and the hope is for it to become an annual event,” Juliene Donaldson, administrator for MCCAM, told the Jamaica Observer.

The 29-year-old facility was founded by Dr Pauline Watson Campbell.