theartsdesk at the London Jazz Festival: Heart beats on the fringe

Squeezing nearly 300 events into the 10-day dash that is the London Jazz Festival, which has just ended required dozens of venues – many not regular presenters of jazz – to open their doors. From the 606 Club in the west to Oliver’s Bar in Greenwich in the east, the Finchley Arts Depot in the north to the Hideaway down south in Streatham, it is in the pubs, clubs and community venues of London that the jazz festival’s heart beats.

The fringe also better reflects the continuing internationalisation of the London Jazz Festival. Where the Southbank and Barbican tend to present the American and British jazz greats of past and present (this year Herbie Hancock, Brad Mehldau, Jack DeJohnette, Esperanza Spalding), the billing elsewhere was stronger on artists from across Europe, Africa and beyond who owe as much to their own roots music as to the label jazz.

A wild variety of sounds and textures piled on top of each other

A truly international festival needs a global audience and London certainly has that to offer. Two artists from opposite ends of Europe proved as much in gigs which both sometimes resembled expat reunions. The young fado singer Carminho received more than just a mumble of assent when she asked whether any of the Purcell Room audience were Portuguese. At 28 and with just two albums under her belt, she could have been forgiven for easing herself in slowly but she committed from the off with a highly wrought song of searing intensity. Immaculately accompanied by a guitar trio led by the smooth Portuguese-guitar virtuoso Luis Guerreiro, Carminho kept up a similar level of drama over two sets. Whether singing sotto voce or at volume, her mouth and face contorted to achieve the inflections of songs of love and loss from her homeland, she was always in control of the remarkable, full-toned voice she inherited from her fadista mother.

One of Carminho’s encores, a festival song from Lisbon, was politely picked up by her watching compatriots. The singing that accompanied the closing numbers at the Finchley Arts Depot a few nights earlier was more raucous, reflecting the informal spirit of the Balkans. The diva this time was Amira (pictured right), the leading singer of sevdah – the melancholic, soulful songs of Bosnia – of her generation. Amira’s appearance had more definite links to jazz. On her 2011 album Amulette, she combined the ornamented melodies of sevdah with a trio led by Serbian jazz pianist Bojan Z. The two styles make a better fit live than on record. The rhythmic freedom of Amira’s vocal lines was accentuated by Bojan and bassist Nenad Vasilic in tunes from Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia and Kosovo. Bojan’s playing ranged from melodic to angular, the latter approach producing a satisfying contrast to Amira’s rich, velvety voice in the most mournful, atmospheric songs.

Staying in the East, two very different Balkan-inspired bands played East London venues. At Richmix in Shoreditch, a double bill featured the Nicolas Simion Group after a probing but rather dry set by British multi-instrumental duo Ivo Neame and Jim Hart. Veteran reeds-man Simion is from Romania and Transylvanian music informs his jazz, yet the influence didn’t always come across with this quartet of reeds, accordion, electric bass and drums. Martin Lubenov’s accordion tended to get lost next to Simion’s powerful and lyrical soprano and tenor sax playing, while his solos were technically impressive but two-dimensional. Except for the final couple of numbers, Simion’s tunes seemed to draw more from hard bop and funk rather than any overt Romanian references. While the ensemble playing was impressive, the set never really took off.