PHOTO COURTESY ARMANDO RODRIGUEZ/MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

MIAMI GARDENS – More than 400 residents packed the Betty T. Ferguson Amphitheater for Music in the Park on Dec. 7 in Miami Gardens.

The audience clapped their hands and tapped their feet as Jean Caze and South Florida gospel songstress Miss Gia Wyre captivated the crowd during the free semiannual concert sponsored by Miami-Dade County Commissioner Barbara J. Jordan, the Sunshine Jazz Organization, Miami Gardens Councilman Erhabor Ighodaro, and the Miami-Dade Cultural Affairs Department.

“We had such an amazing lineup,” Commissioner Jordan said. “I was thrilled to feature jazz, soul, and gospel music at this Music in the Park concert.”

Concertgoers grooved to the smooth tunes of Jean Caze Presents Amédé featuring the jazz trumpeter who showcased his conch shell trumpet skills. Caze paid tribute to his native country Haiti with an instrumental and improvisational performance.

The trumpeter, often compared to Miles Davis, also paid tribute to the late Melton Mustafa Sr.

For the second part of the show, Miss Gia Wyre showed off a wide repertoire, singing gospel, R&B, soul, and blues. The crowd sang along as she performed her rendition of “Yes Jesus Loves Me,” Ray Charles’ “Night and Day,” Luther Vandross’ “Never Too Much” and Jill Scott “He Loves Me.”

The next Music in the Park concert is scheduled for May 3.