Acclaimed Saint Lucian jazz saxophonist Luther Francois will be featured at the Music Unites Jamaica Foundation (MUJF) 30th anniversary event in Jamaica on March 30.
Francois, who was elevated to the status of Cultural Icon and National Hero by Saint Lucia’s Cultural Development Foundation in 2023, will perform at A Moment of Music with Luther Francois & Friends, a free event celebrating the rich musical ties between Jamaica and Saint Lucia, at the Hope Botanical Gardens, St Andrew.
The event will be held under the patronage of Saint Lucian Honorary Consul to Jamaica Vitus T. Evans and will showcase a stellar line-up of musical legends and emerging talents. The highlight, however, will be Francois, backed by the pianist Orville Hammond and the E-Park Big Band under the direction of its founder, renowned composer and musical director Peter Ashbourne.
According to organisers, the event will be a tribute to the shared cultural heritage and enduring friendship between Saint Lucia and Jamaica.
Alongside Francois, the line-up will include some of the Caribbean’s most celebrated musicians, including Dean Fraser, Boris Gardiner, Duane Stephenson, Janine Jkuhl, Orville Hammond, Charmaine Limonius, Marjorie Whylie, and cultural icon Rosina Christina Moder.
Francois will also lead jazz and woodwind workshops at The Alpha School of Music, the Philip Sherlock Centre, at The University of the West Indies in Mona, as well as the School of Music at the Edna Manley College Visual and Performing Arts, where he studied in the late 1970s under the tutelage of Melba Liston, Marjorie Whylie, and Peter Ashbourne.
Francois is featured on reggae legend Bob Marley’s Survival album, including the song One Drop.
Following the concert, Jamaican composer and conductor Peter Ashbourne will be visiting Saint Lucia to conduct workshops from April 7 to 13. While here, he will work with the Royal Police Band, the National String Orchestra, and the St Joseph the Worker Youth Orchestra.
