North Sea Jazz @50 – Day 3: Be the Change
23 year old Brazilian singer Marie Froes opened the third day of this year’s festival for me. From her early Youtube videos to a track on Tik Tok which went viral (“Figa de Guiné”), she is about to release her debut album sometime later this year. She delivered a sympathetic mix of MPB, Pop, Jazz, Bossa Nova and Samba with a convincing band where Diego Duque on trumpet was responsible for some shining solos and jazzed-up force.
The same group I saw yesterday, Kiefer on keys, CARRTOONS on bass, Estratos on drums and Haile Supreme on vocals, was up next at the Congo tent. And whereas yesterday when the focus was clearly on Rhodes and Prophet, today it was Ben Carr’s turn aka CARRTOONS as the leader of the group, playing music from his most recent LP “Space Cadet” which came out in September of last year. Haile was front and center with his svelte falsetto voice, a mix between Aaron Frazer and Marvin Gaye on a lot of pretty soulful tunes, dance tracks and even some house-inspired groovy piece, partly written by himself. His stage persona is really something special as he keeps on smiling and grinning throughout the set like he’s having the time of his life. Which he probably had. Needless to say, the set was upgraded by lavish keyboard work from Kiefer and an incredibly sumptuous input from Diego Ramirez aka Estratos. The in-demand and versatile drummer was one of the coolest discovery this year; this guy has played with Jeremy Pelt, Marc Cary, Melanie Charles and lots more.
One of the most satisfying sets came with an open-air show from the ever so reliable Jarrod Lawson who introduced his new album “Just Let It”. With thick and soulful tracks such as “I Got Your Back”, “If We Pretend (Where Is The Love)”, or “Smoke Me Out”, Jarrod moves between electric and acoustic, always delivering a stand-out vocal performance with his rich and piercing voice. He opened the set with a track from his debut album which came out in 2014. “Music & Its Magical Way” still resonates with some intricate harmonies and layered chords. For the first time on the album and now on stage, he was supported by horns: Jacob Shaw on sax, Joshua Short on trumpet, and Gregor Sperzel on trombone added some more oomph and sway, with Joshua out front playing short and sharp solos. Suits him well. And of course, Jarrod included “Be The Change”, the title track from his second album (2020), which put him on the map for so many more listeners because this particular track was endorsed by Michelle Obama back then. Jarrod plays Union Chapel in London on July 18th by the way.
Waiting for drummer Nate Smith and his group, I checked out a singer I’ve never heard of before (Giveon) even though he was scheduled at Nile, which is the biggest hall here at the Ahoy. I also found out that he is a multi-platinum award-winning “r&b sensation”. Soon enough, I realized why I never heard of him before: he has zero range in his voice; there are no highs. No lows. He sticks to the middle register which makes every song sound the same. His stage presence was amazingly tame and downright boring. I’m sorry but I can’t get into this kind of stale r&b which was just too slick and polished. But there you are: the place was packed.
Drummer Nate Smith, one of the most exciting artists of his generation, and a regular name on this blog, first appeared at North Sea with the legendary Dave Holland. His grandiose mix of jazz, soul, funk, r&b and hip hop came to the fore at the Darling hall last night with some great tunes from his most recent LP “Live-Action”. To watch him work on the drums where he displayed an infectious energy and always watched out on the groove, was purely sensational. Josh Johnson played a soul-stirring sax throughout. I especially liked his part on the Pointer Sisters classic “Automatic”, sung by Lalah Hathaway on the record, but here, Josh managed to come up with a very lyrical way of interpreting the tune. Also, the great James Francies on piano and keyboards added some offbeat and refined textures here and there and Anna Butterss on bass was focussed and distinct all over. A very pleasing set.
No words are needed when we think of Nile Rodgers and Chic. Being the last member of the original Chic Organization, his group was the last one to play at Nile and after an exuberant intro, we were taken on a trip through memory lane with all the great Chic and Rodgers-produced songs with the audience singing along to “I Want Your Love”, “I’m Coming Out”, “We Are Family”, et al. North Sea Jazz 50 was a a blast. Bedankt voor een onvergetelijk festival. Tot volgend jaar! July 9-11th, 2027.
