WITH TOES TAPPING, fingers snapping and bodies swaying, The Jerry Tolson Quartet had the students at Harrison College jamming to some live, up-tempo, neo-classic jazz last Monday.

"The music that we play is all about the rhythm and so we try to emphasise that. A lot of jazz players play very sophisticated harmonic things. For the average listener it is very difficult to get into it, but we try to approach it from a rhythmic and a blues standpoint, that is where our music comes from," explained Jerry Tolson, band leader.

"Now, that's good music!" exclaimed acting principal Joseph Maynard.

"We received a letter from the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) inviting us to share in this opportunity and welcome The Jerry Tolson Quartet to the island.

Good opportunity

"I immediately contacted Mr Jerome Smithen who is in charge of the music department [at the school] and I was really hoping that he would say yes because it was a good opportunity for us to experience what it is to hear what good musicians can do when they play," he explained.

The Louisville, Kentucky three-men, one-woman band thrilled the staff and students when they played a full set for just under an hour.

After the presentation, the band facilitated a workshop for the school's music students.

The Jerry Tolson Quartet was invited under the auspices of the BTA as part of an exchange programme with the Barbados Community College and the University of the West Indies.

(TM)