Michelle Kaplan

EXTEND YOUR SUMMER HIATUS WITH A TRIP TO PARADISE WITH JAFIRE

With the dog days of summer dragging by, there’s still time to have one last summer fling. Nothing screams summer like dancing to Calypso, Reggae and Soca music. To get your fill, go hear Jafire who will stir the soul with that Caribbean beat.

A tart margarita in hand rimmed with course salt, and the sound of steel drums echoing on a soft breeze off the water is all one needs to be in the throes of summer again.

On this night, Jafire is playing the Paradise Club at Panama Hattie’s in North Palm Beach, where they’re a weekend fixture. You’ll find them here every Friday and Saturday night from 8 PM to Midnight. It’s the perfect backdrop for this band, outdoors with the sun setting watching the boats cruise by.

The four members that make up Jafire bring with them the music that is inherent in their individual cultures. Take bandleader Matthew McConney from Trinidad who recently cajoled his brother Neil to join the band. They come from a family of musicians but are self-taught. Matthew plays the steel drums and Neil guitar. The brothers have a way of harmonizing that only people who have played together throughout their lives can do.

“I like to bring joy and happiness to people…make their troubles and worries go, they free up themselves and dance… that’s my pleasure,” said Matthew.

Island music is a tricky business. First, the music has to sound light, joyful and very laid back. If it seems more fun than work, the illusion is complete. Make no mistake about it; Calypso music is well, like cosmetics. It takes a skilled hand to achieve that natural look, and that’s what’s going on here.

“A lot of bands play calypso music,” Matthew explains. “People like the natural rhythms. We also play Reggae and contemporary music… We give the people what they want.”

Listen closely and you’ll hear that the music is well polished and tight. The band members are all skilled international musicians.

Jason Challenger, the band’s keyboardist has recently returned from the Middle East where he played for Sheikh Hamid in Dubai, but he likes playing at home at Panama Hattie’s too.

“I like the atmosphere, the people, everything…it’s a welcoming place.”

Jason grew up in St. Kitts in the West Indies and learned music at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

“Music is something I enjoy, I can’t do without…music is my thing.”

Sax man Andrew Brennen hails from Nassau in the Bahamas. Although he grew up in the islands he did not start out playing this type of music. He first learned Jazz.

I was mentored by Ralph Munnings, a great jazz sax player in Nassau, I got my tips from him.”

Andrew spent time traveling all around and playing in various bands from Paris, Germany and Switzerland to Greece.

“They were different jobs - each of them completely different… from Jazz, Blues, Soul.”

Although he enjoys playing island music, he has to have an outlet for the other love in his life.

“I truly love playing a Panama Hattie’s…it’s a nice place…it’s a nice band…They do play mostly island music and that is ok but I have to be able to play some type of contemporary Jazz because it is a part of me… I do play on my own, also as a one-man band. I play mostly contemporary Jazz, mostly easy listening.”

Take again the brothers who picked up their craft in Trinidad. Neil actually played with a very famous Calypso, Saco musician, Slinger Francisco also known as, the Mighty Sparrow. He was in his band for eight years. He was also affiliated with Alphonsus Celestine Edmund Cassell, simply known as Arrow, who penned “Hot Hot Hot,” the infectious little tune that made Buster Poindexter a household name back in the 1980’s.

Both brothers went on to hone their band skills on cruise ships where they, no doubt, learned their talent for working a crowd.

The steel drums keep the beat and the sax underscores the rhythm filled out by the rich harmonies. It all fits together nicely and the crowd responds, swaying ad bopping along to the beat. They sing along to the familiar Bob Marley songs and fake the rest. They’re relaxed and the Red Stripes are flowing.

On break, Neil schools barflies about the differences between Calypso, Saco and Reggae music.

“Basically Reggae is from Jamaica… Calypso and Soca music comes from Trinidad.”

A raucous bachelorette party shuffles in. The bride decked out in full veil and sashes. She is looking for a bald guy to take a photo of…it’s on her scavenger list…will Neil oblige? I have no doubt, but it’s getting late and unfortunately my time in Margaritaville has come to an end.

For more information about Jafire, visit their website www.jafire.net
Panama Hattie’s is located at 11511 Ellison Wilson Rd.,
North Palm Beach, (right over the bridge on PGA Blvd.).
For more information, call 561-627-1545.

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