Night five of the Barbados Jazz Festival was opened by pianist Joseph Diamond. Accompanied by Leo Traversa on bass and Diego Lopez on drums, Diamond's smooth, easy listening tones and tunes were just the thing after a long day.

Their music fit right in to the setting of the Heritage park, which complete with individual stalls offering tempting fare, was an ideal venue to perpetuate the festival-like atmosphere. It had the desired degree of intimacy, yet open enough to roam and listen at leisure. All those combined made for special moments for what has come to be a special event.

Diamond, who said he started dreaming about Barbados a week before he got here, is patently in love with Barbados, its women and flying fish. He played tracks from his debut CD " Not Your Typical New Yorker" and if any of the music sounded familiar it was because it's featured on the cable television series "Sex in the City". He endeared himself to the Bajan audience, women in particular, when he dedicated "Bajan Beauty" to the island's beautiful women. That one had quite a few heads and shoulders shaking to the steady soca beat Lopez was generating. He did justice to the Caribbean beat. Lopez dropped it in the dance hall style, handling the one drop and Shango beats with equal aplomb.

It is simply amazing what diversity of sound only eight notes can produce. Despite the dissimilarity in styles of Sonny Emory and Joseph Diamond, the contrasting sounds characterize the well established Barbados Jazz Festival.