Since there’s many more influential UK jazz artists on our line-up today and tomorrow, we’ll devote some more words to the brawling London scene. Get ready for tonight’s festival programme and tomorrow’s double bill by listening to the words and sounds these musicians communicate.
Moses Boyd
Moses Boyd has been around for a long time before his own work started to get the attention it deserved: he produced Zara McFarlane’s album Arise back in 2017, also making appearances several Brownswood releases, releases by Kelsey Lu, Theon Cross and Blue Lab Beats, next to being part of the duo Binker and Moses. Also on the resume: drumming on the latest Sons of Kemet record, making an appearance on the Beyoncé-curated Lion King Soundtrack and founding his own imprint, Exodus Records.
From the day of birth of his own record label, Moses really found his way with a nocturnal mix of grime and afrobeat, electronics and brass, all driven by Boyds excellent drumming. His latest album Dark Matter is his first “proper album” and a “producer record”, as the musician/producer states himself. Dark Matter is full of misty jazz for dance floors, proven by collaborations with people who know to get their groove on vocally and instrumentally: Katy B, Poppy Ajudha and Joe-Armon Jones. Moses never disappoints, as you will see tonight during the opening hours of the fourth Super-Sonic Jazz Festival day.
Emma-Jean Thackray
Former member of Neue Grafik Ensemble, collaborator of Skinny Pelembe and Hector Plimmer, even showing up on the latest Squid record: Emma-Jean Thackray is a composer, producer and musician in the broadest sense. She always has one foot on the dance floor, as best heard on the Wayne Shorter cover Speak No Evil for Blue Note:Reimagined (2020).
But her own Movementt single (2020) also sounds like an open invite to the dance floor. Her cosmic mix of fusion and electro is predominantly cheerful and connective, trying to mingle different types of musicheads on the dance floor. With her latest record Yellow (2021), Emma-Jean shows it all: her mastering of guitar, keys and trumpet, orchestral production that sound more epic than any of her previous work, and an all together coherent ode to the cosmos and all its mystic forces. It’s time to get those hips moving as much as they can on a chair, because Emma-Jean is here to make you dance.
Nubya Garcia
One stand-out album to intensely enchant our souls the last year, is Nubya Garcia’s Source (2020). Dynamic, spiritual jazz with twists of funk and epic compositions are some of the most striking elements of the nine magical tracks. What a surprise it has been to see the whole thing flipped upside down on SOURCE ≠ WE MOVE, a collection of remixes by Garcia’s friends and collaborators. Amongst them: keiyaA, Nala Sinephro and S-SJ 2021 artist Moses Boyd. A very refreshing listen!
But there’s more to composer/saxophone player Nubya Garcia’s universe than just a sum-up of her latest releases: this woman has played on so many beautiful projects, that it’s hard to even pick three favourites. We’ll give it a try, though: Makaya McCraven’s Universal Beings, Oscar Jerome’s self-titled EP and the spiritual work of her other band Nérija. Nubya Garcia is a strong, warm-blooded force in UK jazz right now, a connector, powerhouse behind the decks and sax, and forward-thinking when it comes to music and human rights. Don’t miss out on her late-night performance tonight.
Yussef Dayes
After reaching ground-breaking success, unleashing a small musical revolution and making one of our all-time favorite albums with Black Focus, drummer Yussef Dayes has gathered a solid live reputation with his own trio. With Charlie Stacey on keys and Rocco Palladino / Tom Driessler on bass, no extatic solo or wonderfully improvised fill will be missed.
Having played one of the most memorable sets at our festival ever back in 2019, Yussef Dayes is returning with a live show that is never twice the same. Listen to the wonderfully overlooked Welcome To The Hills (2020) to hear what the Yussef Dayes experience is all about. In the years after Black Focus, Yussef released a couple of stunning singles and live-sessions, a remix for British mc Pa Salieu and his own tracksuit including an exclusive 12” for Patta. All for the music, all for the culture. Love Is The Message.
Catch all of these artists either tonight or tomorrow at Super-Sonic Jazz Festival 2021. Yussef Dayes is playing two shows on sunday, one at 18:15 and one at 21:30. For these two shows, there are still some tickets left through our website. The saturday of S-SJ is sold out. See you tonight or tomorrow!