Awesome Package at Hospitality Jamaica Awards

Western Bureau :

While they received no awards for their stellar performance, the group Package delivered a performance rich in quality, class and charisma as they added extra gloss to Friday night’s RJRGLEANER Hospitality Jamaica Awards at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, in St. James.

Hitting the stage during the dinner segment of the event, which was created to reward outstanding entities and persons in the local hospitality sector, the dynamic trio, comprising Karen Smith, Gem Myers, and Patricia Edwards, was as musically delectable as the sumptuous meal.

Looking regal in their white- and-silver outfits, the members of Package, who individually came to prominence as top-flight cabaret acts on the local hotel circuit, reeled off R&B classics like Best Of My Love and Got To Be Real, which not only showed off their individual vocal power but their collective skills to generate rich harmonies.

While the R&B selections were heart-warming, when Package changed the pace to old-school Jamaican reggae, it was absolutely pulsating as they did justice to songs like the Wailing Souls original Things and Time; Morgan Heritage’s Reggae Bring Back Love, and Beres Hammond’s Can You Play Some More.

During this phase, their byplay with the audience added lustre to their performance, especially when they focused witty lines on Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, who walked away with the biggest award of the night, the Hospitality Jamaica Pioneer Award, which he received for his phenomenal contribution to local, regional, and global tourism.

Delightful ballads

After performing a delightful collection of ballads, which included, I Love You, How Strong Is My Life and Love Somebody, the group departed the stage. However, the audience demanded an encore, which they got through expertly delivered songs like So Excited and Jump For My Love.

Saxophonist Howard Goulds, who also performed in the segment, was exceptional on his wind instrument, taking his musical offering up-close and personal, sauntering from table to table across the ballroom, sometimes lingering long enough to allow photographs and video footage to be captured on the many cellular phones which recorded his performance.

While Goulds uttered no lyrics, it was nice to see much of the audience singing along as the glistening horn spoke for him on several well-known songs, which he captured beautifully with the instrument.

The Evolution Dance Group, which opened the entertainment segment, gave a delightful taste of what visitors are regularly treated with on the hotel circuit. Against the backdrop of riveting kette drum beat, the energetic dancers had all eyes glued on them as they worked the stage with authority.