I love jazz. Especially the kind that is infused with hip-hop, soul, funk, RnB, Afro-beat, broken beat, you name it. In the last few years, this new wave of “experimental” jazz has taken the mainstream music world by storm – and London seems to be the next frontier. So, it was only fitting that this year’s Love Supreme Festival (my first) was a shameless celebration of London’s young and buzzing jazz scene.
Held over a long weekend in Glynde Place, a sunny patch of green in East Sussex, the Love Supreme Festival is quickly becoming one of the UK’s premier jazz festivals. From a Main Stage that hosts popular, crowd-pleasing headliners, to an Arena showcasing newcomers and left field artists, Love Supreme manages to cater to a wide, and diverse audience of jazz fanatics. For those caught in the middle of the spectrum, like myself, difficult choices had to be made at this year’s festival, as so many great performances overlapped (the #fomo was real).
The music starts on Friday evening, as weekend campers arrive to pitch their tents and settle in. We danced to the Brass Funkeys in one tent, only to find them bobbing their heads with us to the Jay Phelps Quartet in another. This is the beauty of Love Supreme–at any moment, you’re likely rubbing shoulders with the next artist to go up on stage.
Saturday morning, we tinkered with guitars, keyboards and venovas in the YAMAHA tent, and strolled around the festival grounds (yes, I got my face painted in glitter). Then London came to play in the Arena. First up was Alfa Mist, a pianist, producer and beatmaker, who effortlessly lulled the crowd with his unique blend of hip hop, jazz and electronica. His understated nature made his set all the more transcendent. Then came the elegantly-cool Nubya Garcia on saxophone, with Femi Koleoso on drums, Daniel Casimir on double bass and Joe Armon-Jones on piano. Koleoso and Armon-Jones stole the show–fiercely vibing off each other and sending the crowd into a frenzy, Garcia dancing on the sidelines. Armon-Jones would go on to play the keyboard for Mr Jukes (former Bombay Bicycle Club frontman) on the Main Stage, then come back to play with Koleoso and a few others in the Ezra Collective. Ezra Collective’s high-energy blend of jazz, Afro-beat, and reggae pulls you in and consumes you. I turned at one moment to watch the crowd and noticed something special–when people danced to Ezra Collective, they didn’t just dance. They moved, with their eyes closed, smiling, their facial expressions a mix of awe, excitement, and peace–even amidst the fiery sound booming from the stage. To top it off, the band ended their set with a mini-tribute to Fela Kuti’s Water Got no Enemy.
A surprise favourite on Saturday was Rohey, a Norwegian quartet whose lead singer Rohey Taalah filled the Arena with her electric voice and powerful stage presence. She will be one to watch. With my heart full from the performances in the Arena, I didn’t mind so much Elvis Costello*, Saturday’s main headliner, didn’t live up to the standard set by previous headliners on the Main Stage. I wasn’t a fan of Costello before the Festival, and had hoped to be swayed. Alas, that didn’t happen.
Sunday highlights included more Londoners: Tom Misch, who wooed the crowd with his catchy mix of pop, jazz and hip-hop; the creative drummer Moses Boyd and his ensemble The Exodus; and the soulful Zara McFarlane.
I will admit, we missed a lot of great acts on Sunday while saving our energy for the evening shows. Yazz Ahmed (London-based Bahraini trumpeter), Dave Holland, Zakir Hussain and Chris Potter, and Mavis Staples were apparently phenomenal in the Big Top. We did catch a fantastic performance by Steve Winwood–who drew a large and nostalgic crowd, and who quite frankly should have played on the Main Stage. Winwood also had to compete with the pull of the main headliners, Earth Wind and Fire, who were set to start on the Main Stage 15 minutes before the end of Winwood’s show. We caught up with Earth, Wind and Fire a little late, but didn’t miss much. They had saved their best hits for last.
While I was generally underwhelmed with the Main Stage lineup at this year’s Love Supreme, it’s the Arena that will keep me coming back. There’s an energy, hunger and honesty that the up-and-coming crop of London jazz artists bring to the Festival. It’s difficult to describe exactly what that feels like, but it’s definitely plain to see that the future of jazz in the UK is bright. Thanks Love Supreme for giving us a glimpse of the exciting London scene.
*It was soon made public that Costello cancelled the rest of his tour due to a serious illness.