THERE is a saying that the best wine comes with age. The longer it stays in the barrel, the better it supposedly gets.

Some would suggest it’s the same with music.

The best music comes from a musician who has lived life, practised until his fingers bled, and all the feelings, emotions and experiences drawn over many years culminating and manifesting itself in his or her performance.

On Saturday October 29, Fiji will get to see, hear, and experience the chemistry of this “cellaring” or maturing of artistes when Stage Tech Productions and Pacific Coast Events & Promotions showcase the first ever Fiji Jazz & Blues Festival.

Stage Tech managing director Jerry Vatuwaqa, the son of the late great guitarist, vocalist and producer Waisea Vatuwaqa, said he hoped to make the event an annual festival.

“This show is going to be different because it will celebrate the pioneers of our industry in terms of jazz and blues,” he shared.

“These are the musicians and vocalists who helped create the industry that we all enjoy today.

“Our first event is called At Tom’s Place and it’s a tribute to the greatest and most renowned musician that Fiji has ever produced, Tomasi Mawi.”

During rehearsals for the show held at Stage Tech Studio in Raiwaqa recently, Vatuwaqa said he was amazed at the depth and dexterity displayed by Mawi.

“I have never seen or heard him play with such passion and feeling,” he said.

“We had Maxie Columbus who is also one of the star acts at the show, and Robert Verma playing their guitars through effects machines and they do what they do very well.

“But Mawi just plugged his guitar straight into the amplifier with no effects and everything that was in his heart was transferred to his fingers and amplified through the speakers.

“It was really something else.”

Columbus had jetted into the country last month to shoot scenes for a music documentary on his musical journey in Fiji and he also wanted to capture special musical moments with Mawi.

It was while recording footage at Stage Tech during rehearsals for the show that the now United States resident was literally blown away by the jazz virtuoso.

“Rerevaki saraga o Mawi bro,” he said.

“We thought we were something — Robert and I — with all our pedals and effects and then in walks Mawi with his old Gibson semi-solid and an old Fender amp, he plugs his guitar straight in and walked all over us with his notes, scales and chords.”

Columbus and Verma, unlike Mawi, had embraced technological advances when guitar effects pedals began arriving in the country in the ’70s and ’80s.

The music scene in Fiji at the time was going through a transition from rock to disco and flirting with jazz, funk and fusion.

While songs like the Doobie Brothers anthem Long Train Running was on almost everyone’s set list, it was also not unusual to find abstract instrumental pieces such as Miles Davis’ So What or Jaco Pastorius’ The Chicken being played in bars, restaurants and nightclubs around the country.

And while guitarists such as Columbus and Verma embraced the new sounds and effects that were used by international artistes on their records, Mawi stayed true to the natural tone of his guitar.

“The more we used our pedals and effects, the more Mawi drew from his depth of knowledge on the guitar by playing chords and note combinations that we had never heard before.

“I’m just so blessed that I was able to make it here, to share this space and to capture Mawi in all his greatness.”

Columbus was around when Mawi was developing his style in the early ’60s but he said what he heard at Stage Tech studio last month was a different side of the jazz maestro.

At first, everyone involved in the documentary shoot and the Stage Tech crew sat in silence as the Tailevu man expressed himself through his virtuosity on an instrument he has been intimate with for more than 50 years of his life.

Silence turned to cheers as Mawi began to reach deep into the depths of his vast palette of musical knowledge and experience.

As the cameras rolled, Mawi was oblivious to the lights and even those around him as he immersed himself in the music.

He played with the finesse of Wes Montgomery and the dexterity of George Benson as he slid into blues, jazz and then a fusion of the two styles.

At times the studio audience felt that he was in control of the guitar and in the next instant they felt as if Mawi was an extension of the instrument itself. Such was the intensity of the performance.

“I saw something during these sessions that I have never seen in Mawi in the forty odd years I have known him.

“Mawi is an amazing human being, he is so humble and just has a very different type of energy that only comes out in his music.

“And I hope that Fiji pays tribute to him by coming to the concert on Saturday October 29.

“For far too long, musicians like Mawi have been taken for granted.

“It’s all very well and good to say a lot of nice things about artistes like Mawi and say how great he is but it is another thing entirely to reach into your pocket and buy a ticket to support a man who has held the torch for Fiji music since the ’60s.”

It is fitting that the venue for the event will be the Holiday Inn and the after-party at the Golden Dragon nightclub in Suva.

It was at the Golden Dragon that Mawi, together with his brothers Ben and Marika, and Rupeni Davui, began the live music scene in the early ’60s performing instrumental tunes.

And the then Suva Travelodge (now Holiday Inn) was also the venue of live music performances in later years.

Mawi still keeps the music alive there, together with his son Samisoni and daughter-in-law Annie, he performs at the Holiday Inn every Wednesday from 6pm-9pm.

While he was not too keen on highlighting his status as the headline act for the show, Mawi was keen to express his sentiments about the prospect of performing with a select group of musicians that he holds in very high regard.

Among them are the rhythm section for his show — bassist Filimone “Baba” Waqa and drummer Ratu Marika “Tuma” Nasoqeqe.

“I really love playing with Baba and Tuma because they understand my music and they give me a lot of freedom to do what I want to do,” said Mawi.

Waqa and Nasoqeqe have developed a unique drum and bass combination since their first performance at the Assemblies of God Church in Namoli, Lautoka, in the early ’80s.

At that time, the duo was heavily influenced by the musicians who performed regularly at the church. They included legendary drummer and vocalist Sakiusa Bulicokocoko, bassist Saimoni Waqa (of The Freelancers fame) and keyboardist Jim Marawa.

Over the years Nasoqeqe and Waqa have backed some of the country’s premier acts and are highly regarded as the best in the jazz and blues business.

At Tom’s Place kicks off at 3pm at the Holiday Inn before moving to the Golden Dragon from 10pm.

Tickets for the event go on sale today and are available at Dragon Music on Victoria Parade and Alliance Francaise at Desvouex Rd in Suva.

The show is sponsored by Victoria Wines, Digicel, Dragon Music, Holiday Inn, Alliance Francaise and co-hosted by Stage Tech Productions and Pacific Coast Events & Promotions.