Ernie Ranglin, Pam Hall, Fab 5 bring back the love

Poignant best sums up 90-year-old guitar maestro Ernie Ranglin’s ever-so-humble apology to his audience at the Courtleigh Auditorium last Saturday, for what he said was his guitar not being tuned properly. But, truth be told, all ears were so tuned to Ranglin’s greatness as he delivered unadulturated excellence, that many brows were furrowed.

“I had a new tuning right at the door there and everything just went down,” Ranglin said dejectedly at Bring Back the Love 2.

However, compere Fae Ellington was not going to allow that. She quickly interjected, to thunderous applause from the audience, “It went very well, it went very well, it went very well. This is Ernie Ranglin ... he is the maestro. Isn’t he lovely? Isn’t he handsome? Isn’t he wonderful?”

And, it was only appropriate that Ranglin was honoured in that very same moment, as singer extraordinaire, Pam Hall, and guitarist Kenroy Mullings – who Ranglin has named as his successor – entered centrestage while Ernie was asked to sit and listen to a tribute. The song chosen was Just Because and, as Hall explained, it was done by the Wailers in the ‘60s and “there’s a very famous solo that was played by Ernie Ranglin. So we are just going to serenade Ernie”.

Dejection was replaced with miles of smiles from Ranglin as he listened attentively and clapped in appreciation of the talent on display.

Pam Hall, who was the first act on stage last Saturday night, took to the stage a few minustes after 8 p.m. and, accompanied by drummer Desi Jones and his his band, wasted no time in thrilling with a slew of classics. She also paid tribute to the late Thom Bell, a Jamaican who left the shores as a child and who would go on to blaze a distinguished trail internationally as the architect of the Sound of Philadelphia.

“As teenagers, we loved Thom Bell and didn’t know that he was Jamaican,” Hall said of the Grammy-winning producer, writer and arranger who died last December at age 79.

Hall, whose daughter was one of her back-up singers, brought on Philadelphia soul with the Stylistics’ Stop Look Listen to Your Heart, Let’s Put it All Together, Stone in Love With You, and, accompanied by Chris McDonald, she belted out You Make me feel Brand New. “Thom Bell, your music lives on,” Hall, who was dressed in a floor-length black skirt and a glistening silver and black top, said at the end of that session.

But she wasn’t finished yet, and she “let Jah moon come shining in” with Turn Your Lights Down Low, a la Lauryn Hill, and a song which her fans, including Fae Ellington, were waiting for, Book of Life. With the passing of Orville ‘Woody’ Wood, with whom she originally recorded the classic, Hall chose ‘Mr Music’ Grub Cooper to share the mic with her, and together they took Bring Back the Love a few notches higher.

“When you are singing with somebody of the calibre of a Pam Hall, you have to reach up to her level ... and so sharing a stage with her is always a joy,” Cooper said post-performance.

Hall returned after the intermission for another well-received session, at the end of which she was presented with flowers from promoter Len Crooks.

Special guests for the concert, Fab 5, brought the curtains down with a set that showed their full understanding of the assignment. Coordinating in white T-shirts, black jackets and black pants, the members of the band showed exactly why Fab 5 has been around for 51 years and counting. Their repertoire included “songs that bring back memories of a Jamaica that was peaceful” as band leader Frankie Campbell said, as well as some which had Campbell “dropping legs” as he and his lead singer seemed to want to turn the stage into a dance floor.

Patron of Bring Back the Love 2 was former Prime Minister of Jamaica, P. J. Patterson. Part proceeds of the event have been earmarked for the McCam Child Care and Development Centre.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com