Rosie Frater-Taylor’s London Jazz Festival show brought a rock-star edge into the pristine, new-feeling venue, World Heart Beat Embassy Gardens. The show marked the end in a long series of dates following the release of her most recent album ‘Featherweight’ earlier this year and promoting the upcoming deluxe edition which will be available from 21st December.
If you like the sound of her records, you will not be disappointed by the live show which had just as much and more to offer. As a guitarist, she navigates distorted, indie sound worlds with all the dexterity and fluency of a jazz legend. Her vocals have a modern, poppy sound which are executed with comfort and ease.
Her tone is sleek in a way that is still clear while blending into the band’s collective sound. But the real magic happens when her guitar and vocals come together in a texture effect reminiscent perhaps of George Benson. These colourful, shape-shifting unison lines steal the show, plainly demonstrating the virtuosity and intention within her playing.
The set started with the aptly named ‘Heartbeat’ and you wonder if this was intentional (the venue being called World Heart Beat). Either way, it set the tone for the evening: the band sounded tight and well rehearsed. Backed by Dave Edwards (bass), Tom Potter (Drums), Azzedine (backing vocals, keys) and Verushka (backing vocals), Frater-Taylor soon relaxed into a natural and inviting demeanor on stage, joking with members of the audience about her “brand new” album… from February.
Frater-Taylor’s songs seem to be built around great hooks, often in the form of rhythmical lyrics An example of this is in the track ‘Twenties’ which had much of the audience singing along and miming the hits on air guitars of their own. The vocals hit hardest when backed up by Azzedine and Verushka- the two backing vocalists, sporting Stevie Wonder t-shirts and providing that smooth, soul sonority accompanied with all the classic backing vocal gestures that you would hope for.
The set featured some covers, including a 7/4 rendition of Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ which will appear on the deluxe edition album. It is a mark of her distinctive brand of harmony and rhythm that the song became her own.
The original tune ‘Falling Fast’ featured Tom Potter on drums, who gave a time warping solo over the uneven terrain of the drum vamp. In fact all through the evening, he was gloriously precise, seemingly the perfect drummer for the job. He appeared to catch every twist and turn of Frater-Taylor’s improvisations and nursed grooves around them, never missing a beat unless with intention and to great effect.
The most exciting track ‘Think About You’ from Frater-Taylor’s 2021 album ‘Bloom’ featured a stunning talkbox solo from Azzedine. The whole tune was delightfully in the pocket, until the end, where an intimate moment starred Frater-Taylor playing over layers of her own guitar, making for a meditative reflection which resonated with the nostalgic tone of the song.
The concert was well attended by a notably broad range of ages, but the most enthusiastic was a small group of teenagers that stood at the very front with stars in their eyes. The World Heart Beat charity is well-known for its successful youth development programmes, but it also occurred to me that perhaps I was watching the next generation of guitarist-singers, who had very visibly learnt every word of each of Frater-Taylor’s songs. I remarked on this when I got the opportunity to talk to the singer briefly after the show and her response was “Well that’s why we do it… that’s what it’s all about”. Maybe she’s right.
