North Sea Jazz @50 – Day 2

I’m writing this piece on this beautiful hotel ship and outside on deck they are currently playing “That’s The Way Of The World” by Earth, Wind & Fire, which was preceded by “Minute By Minute” by Michael McDonald. A perfect sequel to what was going on yesterday at this year’s 50th anniversary edition of North Sea Jazz in Rotterdam.

I watched a documentary about the festival and how everything is rigged up and arranged, together with interview snippets from artists like Herbie Hancock, Branford Marsalis, and Jacob Collier and why they think that this is such a thrilling experience. It was shown while waiting for Tunisian oud player Anouar Brahem. His fusion of Arab classical music, folk, and Jazz is probably best realised on his wonderful ECM LP “After The Last Sky”, which came out last year and which is a great continuation of his work for the label which started back in 1991 with the album “Barzakh”. Inspired by the words of Palestinian poet Mahmud Darwish, the line is taken from his immortal “The Earth Is Closing In On Us”, which Anouar briefly quoted. Aided and abetted by cellist Anja Lechner, pianist Django Bates, and bassist Mats Eilertsen, we were in for a real treat; a 75-minute meditation and for me, the perfect start into the second day of this whirlwind festival. This highly reassuring and comforting music, sometimes veering towards chamber-like moments, sometimes going into a more jazzier direction, together with the unique sound of the oud, was perfectly executed by the four members of the group, each one with exceptionally tight command and sizzling concentration. But they were also let loose during several shorter solos here and there, only adding to the overall fascination. It was a revealing and truly mindblowing experience.

I’ve been a fan of Marcus Miller‘s artistry ever since his early 80s work with Luther Vandross and his first two brilliant solo albums (“Suddenly”, 1983 and “Marcus Miller”, 1984). He also played on a million other albums and of course was influential in the work of Miles Davis during the 80s, especially for his contribution to the iconic “Tutu” album in 1986. I have seen him a lot of times over the years (last time at Rockit in Groningen), and this year, he presented the “We Want Miles!” show to celebrate the 100th birthday of Davis. I have to admit that I didn’t see the full show, but what I saw was simply a loose sequence of incredibly lengthy solos by veteran specialists Bill Evans (sax) and Mike Stern (guitar). I missed that certain flow of the gig and the spark didn’t really jump over.

Which it certainly did for the 60-minute set of LA musician Kiefer (check also my five-paw review of his most recent project “Fathers”). Even the soundcheck was incredibly packed. I had secured a spot in the front row and from the moment he touched the keyboard, the magic was about to unfold. Drawing from material of his five albums, the way he churned out those rolling notes on the Rhodes (via a Nord Stage 3) and the vast and thick Prophet, this was an absolutely contagious mix of his signature sound which merges jazz, hip-hop beats, jazz-funk and soul with his phrasing and timing totally unparalleled. Also on board: bassist extraordinaire Ben Carr aka CARRTOONS (who also plays on “Fathers”) and amazing drummer Estratos (check out his 2025 album “Estratos”). The music was purely adventurous, touching on multiple genres but always staying true to this really unique sound which was genuinely matchless. For the last couple of tunes, Kiefer called out singer Haile Supreme for two classic soul pieces from Roy Ayers (“Everybody Loves The Sunshine”) and Erykah Badu (“Didn’t Cha Know”), both done with infectious aplomb and chilled swagger.

I briefly checked in on Alex Isley, daughter of Ernie Isley (The Isley Brothers had to cancel their performance this year), who released her new album “When The City Sleeps” earlier this year and who also worked with Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, and Paul Cornish for “I Left My Heart In Ladera” in 2023. Her mostly r&b-inflected set was pleasant and solid with a lot more potential I might add. London-based pianist and producer Joe Armon-Jones was up next. One of the founding members of the Ezra Collective, Joe was playing lots of stuff from his two “All The Quiet” LPs which were released on his own Aquarii label last year. Here’s another truly unique artist who merges his jazz chops on the Rhodes with dub-style ingredients (Jah Shaka, the legendary reggae/dub soundsystem operator and producer being his main influence) and funky loops. The multi-layered sound was supported by bassist Rudi Creswick and drummer Ebow Mensah, both delivering exhilarating input to the mix.