The Bermuda public's thirst for jazz will once again be whetted, this time on Saturday, October 6, when Danji Productions presents 'A Jazz Banquet' at the Fairmont Southampton Princess Hotel in recognition of the tenth anniversary of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Bermuda.

"The event is to raise funds and awareness for the victims of multiple sclerosis who have been silenced by this disease," Mr. Wendell (Shine) Hayward, Danji Productions founder, said.

In addition to fine dining, entertainment will include both local and international talent. Headlining the programme will be the visiting Hugh Fraser quartet featuring Rufus Reed on bass, Bob McLaren on drums, Christine Duncan on vocals and Mr. Fraser on trombone and piano.

Canadian Mr. Fraser is also a composer, producer and teacher who was twice voted Canadian Trombonist of the Year by Toronto's Jazz Report Awards. He has recorded more than 60 of his own compositions on thirteen albums as leader, for which he won two Juno Awards and many nominations, and has performed and/or recorded with some of the most famous names in jazz, including Dizzy Gillespie, Maynard Ferguson, Billy Ekstein and Chucho Valds.

As a teacher, Mr. Fraser has served as the programme head of jazz at the Banff Centre for Fine Arts, head of Jazz Composition at London's Royal Academy of Music, and is much sought after as a guest clinician by all major progressive institutions.

The jazz banquet will also mark the first reunion between Mr. Fraser and the Bermuda National Youth Jazz Ensemble and its music director Mr. Hayward, who recently attended a jazz camp in Manitou, Ontario, Canada where Mr. Fraser is music director.

Local comedian Nadanja and the Bermuda National Youth Jazz Ensemble will also be performing, and the entertainment programme will be led by a video presentation on multiple sclerosis (MS) - a chronic and sometimes disabling disease of the central nervous system. Its cause is unknown, and symptoms vary greatly from very mild to severe. Thus far, MS is incurable, although drugs can provide relief for acute attacks, and other treatment options include physiotherapy, exercise programmes, attention to diet and adequate rest.

Tickets for the jazz banquet (patrons $200, others $125) are currently on sale at the People's Pharmacy, Caesar's Pharmacy, and 27th Century Boutique. Tables for ten are available. All proceeds will go to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Bermuda, and the target is to raise $25,000.

For further information Danji Productions 292-7356.

"Remember: people with class dine to jazz," Mr. Hayward said.