The grounds of Devon House — the historic 19th century mansion in the heart of St Andrew — came alive with the sounds of jazz and much more on Saturday night.

Jazz chanteuse Myrna Hague staged the ninth edition of her Simply Myrna showcase, which has become a staple on the entertainment calendar. It also featured singer Ernie Smith and the National Chorale.

Backed by the Simply Myrna Band, an aggregation featuring some of Jamaica’s top musicians, including Marjorie Whylie, Mikey Fletcher, Rupert Bent, Desi Jones, Ian Hird, Everol Wray and Vivian Scott, Hague delivered a strong set of jazz standards, show tunes and all-time favourites in front of a fair-sized audience.

Her playlist included Love For Sale, a rendition of Impossible done in Italian, and Send in the Clowns from Stephen Sondheim’s musical A Little Night Music. The latter featured just the right amount of piano work by Whylie to keep timing and rhythm, yet beautifully accenting the vocals. An ever-soaring version of This is My Life was reminiscent of a Shirley Bassey performance. The accents from the horn section — Scott on trumpet and Wray on trombone added to the texture. She injected a reggae flavour into For All We Know, a cover of the Carpenters classic and jazzed up John Holt’sYour Smiling Face. She was right at home with the standard Autumn Leaves, which was made more special thanks to Bent’s guitar stylings.

Hague would further showcase her versatility with a Caribbean medley comprising her version of Yellow Bird, which includes stanzas in Haitian Creole, and Jamaica Farewell, made popular by Harry Belafonte.

The National Chorale added very little to this year’s event. This was largely due to the poor microphone placements which rendered most of the choir inaudible. Their items could have also benefited from a few more rehearsals, considering that they were being taken out of their comfort zone of classical work to deliver more jazz and pop tunes. When they supported Hague with I Want To Know What Love Is, their presence was not felt.

Ernie Smith, this year’s other addition, however, did not disappoint. Had it not been for Hague’s showmanship and vocal capabilities she could have been outdone by her guest.

His deep repertoire and enduring vocals still makes him a strong drawing card and one who rarely disappoints when he takes the stage.

One Dream, Life Is Just For Living which included a shameless, tongue-in-cheek plug for a local beer company, Tears On My Pillow and Duppy or Gunman, all had the previously staid and demure audience rocking in their seats and a virtual singalong.

Hague would reappear on stage after her fourth and final costume change to duet with Smith on Neil Diamond’s Play Me, which also included a tender waltz.

The event, which saw proceeds going to the Jones Avenue Basic School and the Jones Avenue Community Cadet Corps, continued its trend of delighting audiences with great live music from various genres. This year Hague brought the curtains down with a message of inspiration with

I Hope you Dance.

— Richard Johnson