In the second of our Love Supreme round-ups, Evie Hill, who was there for the whole festival, picks a few of her favourite acts from the weekend…
Another year, another beautiful time at Love Supreme Jazz Festival in East Sussex. Love Supreme has come to be an extremely special annual gathering in my circle of friends, and this year was no different – the familiarity with the space and the memories of past years only added to our experience. We laughed, we danced, we sang, we ate great food – and we listened to so much incredible music.
Even though tastes can change and develop over the years, this festival can always be relied upon for its variety of artists – there will always be trad jazz greats, a set of up-and-coming artists, the big soul and RnB acts, rappers, Latin jazz percussionists, funky bass, DJ’s, transcendent ambient music, and of course, wacky big bands with electronic space alien noises. With all that variety, it can be difficult to choose favourites – but here’s my personal roundup of the best performances at Love Supreme this year, and why I connected with them so much.
Luke Bacchus
Playing on Friday evening as part of the One Jazz roster, Luke Bacchus was one of the special moments of the festival for me. As a BBC Young Jazz Musician Finalist in 2022, Luke has been making his mark on the UK jazz scene for years now, but it was my first time hearing him play live. The way his writing fuses Caribbean music (Reggae, Calypso, Gwo Ka, Kwe Kwe, even dub) with jazz is truly inspiring. With Marlon Hibbert on steel pan, Nate Ricketts on drums and Menelik Claffey on bass, Bacchus couldn’t have chosen a greater set of musicians to understand the depth of what he was asking for. Hearing jazz language on the steel pan is a beautiful experience in itself, but with the range of compositions that Bacchus presented, the band were able to build into every solo, communicating with intensity and subtlety. Ricketts’ gospel influence on the drums definitely added to the heaviness of the sound on tunes like ‘So Much Trouble in the World’ by the great Bob Marley, and Hibberts’ tone and narrative-building really shone on Bacchus’ own compositions like ‘Solitude’s Charm’. My takeaway from this performance was the true joy of connection between the band and the audience, and the artistry of such an original voice. Beautiful stuff.
Branford Marsalis
I don’t even know where to begin with this gig. With Joey Calderazzo on keys, Justin Faulkner on drums and Eric Revis on bass, this was always going to be an incredible set of music. What struck me most as a listener was the clarity of ideas in the improvisation from every band member. For a lot of jazz musicians, the context for playing standards is often as background music or at functions – but this is how jazz standards are meant to be played. Taking a tune as well known as ‘On The Sunny Side of the Street’ at a ballad tempo and keeping the audience locked in, hanging on your every note, keeping us constantly surprised and yet at ease, whilst swinging harder than anyone – that is an incredible feat. And only this era of musicians could really pull that off (bar a few). Marsalis’ tone on the soprano was just incredible, and the fluency with which he plays, in both range and language, is just inspirational. The highest level of musicianship you could ever ask for, and a beautiful set.
Sasha Keable
As a vocalist myself, I have to include one of the incredible singers who graced the main stage this weekend – and Sasha was one of the best. Raised on soul and hip-hop, London-born British-Colombian vocalist Sasha Keable is one of the RnB artists to watch in the next couple of years. If anyone is a fan of the Terrell Show on Youtube, you’ll already know that Beyoncé noted Keable as one of her favourite artists at the moment – and in the singer world, that is a big deal. Keable’s performance on Saturday solidified her as a mouthpiece of modern music, blending soul, jazz and gospel with RnB, and pushing the genre forward. Keable’s vocals are light and yet weighty, powerful and yet sweet – her runs are so musical that you’re always surprised by the ease with which she executes them. Nodding to her influences, she treated the audience to a mesmerising rendition of ‘Just Friends’ by Musiq Soulchild, whilst also reflecting her own artistry through new releases like ‘Hold Up’ and ‘Can’t Stop’. This was an incredible performance which deserves all of its flowers.
Maxwell
Another performance which deserves its flowers was Maxwell, headlining on Sunday evening. This was a UK exclusive performance from one of the RnB greats – and it did not disappoint. Maxwell’s voice is just as powerful and agile as it was thirty years ago, and his joyful approach to the performance captivated the audience. His joy in singing for us, dancing with us, and interacting with his band felt truly genuine. His backing vocalists definitely brought the heat on ‘Fortunate’, and he had everyone singing in harmony on the classics – ‘Pretty Wings’ and ‘Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder)’. Listening to everyone singing with him, Maxwell was grinning from ear to ear – it felt like such a beautiful moment of intergenerational music-making and I think he felt as touched by it as we did.
Jemima Whyte
Spanning the whole range of artists at the festival, we finally come to a smaller artist who performed on the New Generation Jazz Stage on Sunday – but by no means is she any less worthy of our attention. Jemima Whyte is a saxophonist, singer and composer who debuted at the festival this year. Her seven-piece band performed head-nodding compositions which spanned from a hard and full alto sound on unusual time signatures, to warm horn solis on soul-inspired songs. Whyte’s artistic voice is varied and yet extremely cohesive, tied together by beautiful horn-line writing and distinctive melodies. Her band also featured an all-female frontline, with Cat Eden on trombone and Meg Cronin on tenor saxophone – all too often, these female role models are missing in jazz, so it was beautiful to see this celebrated so openly. The band finished the set with a funky tune that got the audience dancing and responding in earnest – it’s yet to be released, but her first single ‘Conch’ came out earlier this year, and new music is on the way.
Overall, this year’s festival was a beautiful celebration of music and musicianship, and despite a few rainy spells, it couldn’t have been more perfect. Here’s to next year – see you there!
