Live

Jazz Voice EFG Festival Gala : Southbank 10/11/2023

The opening gala for the annual EFG London Jazz Festival entitled Jazz Voice got off to a sumptuous start. Artists were allowed to do their own compositions as well as standards and this gave it some stark originality to proceedings. There was a strong female presence too kicked off by Vanessa Haynes who sang her heart out and laid the groundwork for a formidable evening. She was joined by a bevvy of top-flight vocalists too.

( In no particular order) Judi Jackson who seemed to channel Billie Holiday on Sarah Vaughns’ ‘Black Coffee’ was moodily brilliant as was China Moses who connected best with a rather subdued and shy audience. Goth Jazz exponent, Naomi Banks impressed too, she’s definitely one to watch as she is a different beast altogether and Emeli Sandé connected convincingly with Nina Simone’s ‘I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free’.

The men were represented by the swaggering Omar and the acrobatic Brendan Reilly. Omar’s ‘The Man’ (from his Freestyle Records days) benefitted enormously from Guy Barker’s sparkling arrangement and his rich baritone voice shone although his new tune, not too dissimilar to his big hit lacked a killer chorus. However I’m sure they’ll be some tunes on his new album. A thrilling evening that set up the week’s festival in glorious style.
Words Emrys Baird