Ese and her Vooduu People ignite at Pizza Express Holborn
Kevin Le Gendre
Friday, August 18, 2023
The London collective, led by Ese Okorodudu, take a while to get going, but when they do, the results are spectacular. If the first set is a touch lukewarm, then the second sees Ese & The Vooduu People catch fire. This is not because of a radical change of approach or material, but simply because they settle in, warm up and push their energy to the boiling point the band had suggested earlier in the evening
A musical equivalent of football’s game of two halves, one could say. If the first set of this two-set show, entitled Jazz Is What We Say It Is! is a touch lukewarm, then the second sees Ese & The Vooduu People catch fire. This is not because of a radical change of approach or material, but simply because they settle in, warm up and push their energy to the boiling point the band had suggested earlier in the evening.
East London-based guitarist-composer-lead-vocalist Ese Okorodudu clearly has the stage presence and musicianship to draw in the audience, as well as a discography that includes a string of singles and EPs and two albums, 2019’s Up In Smoke and Mercury In Retrograde of 2021. Yet things are just a little too loose at the beginning, and the 11 people in her combo could be better marshaled. Indeed, some songs might work more effectively if stripped down to the core rhythm section to create further contrasts in the set, especially as drummer Kissangwa Mbouta and bassist Indigo Pearce form a strong axis. Another plus point is the lordly theatricality of two emcees, Lucifer and Be Atwell, weaving between Pizza Express tables, which is a more novel sight than that of a waiter balancing a tray of fiorentinas.
In any case Okorodudu’s command of a hybrid soul-funk-rock vocabulary and her pithy way with melody and lyric, as evidenced in pieces such as ‘Grey’ and ‘How To Spot A Sociopath’ serve notice of obvious talent. And after the break the whole band seems that much more locked, louder and punchier, showing greater range with tasty Latin touches and an Ali Farka Touré style desert blues (‘Making An Offering’), while a conspicuous added harmonic richness comes in the form of guest trumpeter Jay Phelps.
Although the original material continues to impress, Ese & co peak on a version of ‘On Broadway’ complete with George Benson quotes that morph seamlessly into the killer bass of ‘Billie Jean’: It is the ‘abandon the table and dance’ moment.
Ese & The Vooduu People are an act with real potential to bring an audience in a bigger venue to its feet, and once they lend a tad more focus to their live show, the festival circuit should beckon. Kevin Le Gendre