DIVERSITY was the order of the evening as the 2015 Jazz In The Garden closed Sunday at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston.

Karen Smith opened the show. She showcased her affable personality during performances of All of Me, Let This Be, Good Enough and Once In My Life.

Jon Williams, doubling on keyboards and violin, began his excellent set with Joy Is Spring, Imani — a salute to his daughter — and Phganini. He switched to violin for a medley of Yuletide songs including Let the Christmas Catch You In A Good Mood and Christmas A Come Mi Waan Mi Lamma.

Singer Jabez gave another awesome performance with One In A Million and Falling In Love. He said his pastor told him to stop singing those ‘kind of songs. Then, to much laughter, he quipped: “When me and my wife having sex I never heardAmazing Grace.”

He ended on a gospel note with Drinking From My Saucer and the Revival anthem Prayer (A Nuh One Prayer Mi Pray).

After a brief intermission, the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission 2015 Gospel Song winner, Diamara Neil-Walker, made her second appearance on Jazz In the Garden. She did Just A Closer Walk With Thee, In the Sweet Bye and Bye, I Can Only Imagine andGive It All to Jesus.

The event ended on a high with the energetic Rojjah whose renditions of How I Wish It Would Rain, Harder They Come, Could This Be Love, Lean On Me, Trap, and We Found Love Right Where We Are went over well.

— Basil Walters