Jazz drummer Sarathy Korwar has just released his new album "Day to Day" on Ninja Tune Records. He lead a trio this evening at Manchester Academy, opening up for Kamasi Washington. Joining Korwar was a keyboardist and a nylon string acoustic guitarist. Each composition the trio performed was built around recorded vocal samples, which Korwar explained were recordings he made of Indian singers who had immigrated from Africa.
The trio opened the evening with fast, technical playing with a strong focus on twisting rhythms. The drums were relatively laid back as the keyboardist and guitarist both explored middle eastern scales. The keyboardist had that classic jazzy Fender Rhodes kind of sound, whilst the guitarist had a definite Flamenco influence in his finger picking approach. The drums reached a crescendo by the end of the piece, with a flare for lively rolls and snappy fills. Their second piece escalated from a Funk influenced groove into the avant garde, with a discordant middle section reminiscent of a vintage Horror film. In particular the guitarist really shined on their third composition, with a lengthy solo part. The trio closed with the longest track, which is where band leader Korwar really shone, with a wide pallet of percussive sounds.
Sarathy Korwar and his trio were very well received by the crowd and they played an exciting and lively set, chock full of virtuoso talent. 8/10.
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Fresh off a stunning Glastonbury performance, Kamasi Washington must have been feeling a spiritual peak as he stepped onto the stage, sax in hand, dressed in robes. He performed with the same 7 piece band that played Glastonbury and on his stunning triple album "The Epic". Between playing, Kamasi had a great rapport with the crowd, introducing his band and telling funny stories. In just two hours it felt like the audience got to know Kamasi and his highly talented band. His line-up consisted of Miles Mosley on the double bass, Brandon Coleman on the keys, Patrice Quinn on vocals, Ryan Porter on trombone, and two drummers, Tony Austin and Ronald Bruner Jr (brother of Thundercat). Kamasi told stories of how they all grew up together and started playing instruments from the age of 3 years old! Kamasi himself said he started as a drummer, but was outmatched by his two drummers, so switched to saxophone!
Kamasi Washington and his band kicked straight in with a rich cacophony of natural sounds, with the keyboards being the only electric instrument of the night. His band soon showed their Soul and Funk influences during a virtuoso display of pure musicianship. At first Kamasi took a slight back seat, as he would take time away from the sax to watch his peers from the side of the stage. Once they had all warmed up, the night really took off, and when Kamasi performed his first lead solo, the crowd went wild for it, blown away by the sheer force and magnitude as an array of notes flew at the crowd like machine gun fire!
The next song saw Brandon Coleman AKA Professor Boogie switch to a keytar and get his Jan Hammer on, which had the audience in a frenzy. He lead a wild funky track with his insane playing, stealing the show in this moment! The band then stripped the intensity down a little bit, playing their most emotional song which Kamasi dedicated to his hard working grandma, "Henrietta, Our Hero". He brought out his father Ricky Washington on flute as a special guest, who remained for the rest of the show! The song began with a cool piano sound and a modal saxophone melody. Vocalist Patrice Quinn took the reigns with a soulful lead vocal. Daddy Washington performed a beautiful Jazz flute solo in the middle. This lengthy ballad appropriately stripped back some of the virtuosity for a much more melodic and chord based song. The strength of the playing and the beautiful lyrics made for a very powerful and emotional tribute. By the end of the song I could see that some of the people sat around me in the crowd were moved to tears, and the band won their first standing ovation.
The band mixed it up even further by collaborating on a song that bassist Miles Mosley wrote for his own solo album. "Abraham" showed Mosley going mental on the double bass, with astonishing fingering and fast playing that seemed to defy physics! He created some genuinely eerie sounds from his instrument, even picking up a bow to play it! It soon became evident that Kamasi Washington was far from the only Jazz superstar on the stage tonight!
The 2 hour show climaxed with an insane drum off by Tony Austin and Ronald Bruner Jr. as they played for about 5 minutes each. It was a mind boggling display, and it was hard to pick out a winner as the two had two very distinct styles. After climaxing with another song from "The Epic", the band were cheered back after another standing ovation. As they closed the night with an exciting encore, much of the crowd ditched their chairs and walked to the front of the stage to dance.
This evening I and the Manchester audience were treated to more than some of the richest sounds in Jazz music. Before us stood a real family, not a band. Kamasi Washington and his band have clearly dedicated their whole lives to their craft and have come together to perform flawlessly, with so much fire and passion. But even more than that it was their tight knit chemistry that shone on stage. The band didn't just pour out virtuosity, but sheer emotion and feeling in their playing. Kamasi and his band play like a best of the entire Jazz genre. His triple album and his live show gave us the expression of John Coltrane, the spirituality of Sun Ra and Pharaoh Sanders, the Soul of Roy Ayers and Quincy Jones, the Funk of Herbie Hancock, and the versatility and sheer coolness of Miles Davis. Yet rather than sounding like a pastiche, they sounded nostalgic and fresh at the same time. This is without a doubt one of the greatest live shows I have ever experienced! 10/10.
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June 28th 2016 @ Manchester Academy.
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