Is it premature to call Soweto Kinch a 'national treasure'? Of course it is! Hopefully SK would recoil at the very prospect of such a moniker, now or at any time in the future. One thing is for certain, Soweto is a superb musician in addition to knowing where it's at. Tonight, in the company of regular bassist Nick Jurd, alto and tenor saxophonist Kinch put on a tremendous display.
In difficult circumstances Ronnie Scott's continues to present gigs, some of them live streamed. Kinch's second set of the evening went global thanks to the wonders of the internet. Cuts from Kinch's albums The Black Peril and Nonagram formed the basis of the set's original material alongside some standard fayre which featured our man on tenor saxophone.
Centricity, followed by After You've Gone - two more contrasting pieces you'd be hard pressed to find. Bassist Nick Jurd, now of shaved head, tune-to-tune, swung like nobody's business and laid down a hip-hop groove...talk about versatility!
Mitosis from Nonagram heard strains of Stevie Wonder midst the hip-hop beat and onto Cedar Walton. Alto or tenor, Kinch knows what he's doing. If you've heard Kinch in concert, the chances are he's engaged the audience in some freestyle rap. Members of the audience call out a word, Soweto makes a mental note of each one, then sets about incorporating the words into an on-the-spot song! How he does it is beyond mere mortals.
The best part of ninety minutes later Kinch and Jurd were just about done. The Main Man picked up his tenor once more to blow on Riot Music before closing on If it Ain't Got That Swing. A splendid session, Soweto Kinch is the real deal.
Russell
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