Sons of Kemet, Nubya Garcia and Yussef Dayes shine at sun-soaked Cross the Tracks

Roy Ayers’ ‘Everybody Loves The Sunshine’ inadvertently became the anthem for a day of eclectic sounds as thousands flocked to the Cross the Tracks festival site in bucolic Brockwell Park. The iconic jazz vibist may not have been playing but his lazy, hazy ode to that great yellow ball in the sky, which was shining for the first time in weeks on the first weekend of September, was richly crooned by celebrated soul-jazz don Omar who strutted the stage in an early afternoon set. His own ‘There’s Nothing Like This’ also caught the crowd’s attention – his signature song now 31 years old and still sounding strong.

The day’s heat seemed to affect CTT’s main stage performances with a chilled ambience permeating even fiery tenor sax star Nubya Garcia’s engrossing set. Garcia’s recent nomination for the Mercury Prize has brought her wider attention from the non-jazz audience and it was gratifying to see the audience swell to a few thousand for her set, which she wisely eased into with some lilting ska and reggae rhythms, setting up a sunny groove to draw the listeners in. Garcia’s trio are all strong players, drummer Sam Jones whipping up a snapping groove on each tune, the bubbling drum and bass beats percolating below the surface, while bassist Daniel Casimir and keys man Joe Armon-Jones know how to dig in when they need to. It all combined into a sympatico performance, with Garcia’s long arcing notes possessing a near vocal quality which duly connected with the impressively attentive audience.

Elsewhere the promise of 2018’s first flourish of a new generation of UK jazz bands is now proving that the bubble hasn’t burst, but solidified its fanbase which, thanks to lockdown’s hyperactive live-streaming and social media frenzy, has grown a new even larger audience for this music. And if jazz has long been a staple of hip hop and dance music samplers, then today’s artists are reclaiming that territory for themselves – but with a conscious effort to provide those floor filling beats today’s listeners also crave.

Combine this with the virtuosic drum fire power of modern beat master Yussef Dayes and you have tens of thousands of followers both online and off. While giving the people what they want may be a bit of a compromise, the sheer charisma and bravura power of Dayes’ performance, with the high-flying Charlie Stacey on keys and Rocco Palladino on bass, is a white-hot blend of high octane beats with pure improvisation on top. Add in a surprise guest appearance from towering tenorist Shabaka Hutchings – who was greeted with roars from the crowd – and Dayes and Co. upped the ante and then some. Indeed, with some genuine moments of spontaneity in front of such large crowds, there’s no question these bands are more and more than are delivering on all fronts at the moment. “I’m from a place called Forest Hill,” quipped Dayes. “This next track is called Welcome to the Hills” cue frantic 250bpm drum and bass beat and a track that gives Squarepusher a run for his money.

The slickness of Dayes’ set was followed by the raw, tribal beats of Sons of Kemet (pictured top), who astonish with their bombastic acoustic sound – sub bass thumping out from Theon Cross’ tuba, Hutchings’ tenor sax the throaty, goading vocalised lead, with Tom Skinner and Eddie Hicks clattering, battering double drums driving the audience wild. Another band that have benefitted from the exposure brought by a Mercury Prize nominations, SoK clearly have a following to match today’s dance or Indie artists, yet are carving themselves a unique hybrid space between multiple genres. Neat categorisations are irrelevant here though, as the crowd in The Terminal tent lose themselves in a frenzy of movement, at one with the band’s insistent primal riffing.

As Sister Sledge – with the sole sister Kathy Sledge being the one true link to the band’s original line-up – and Lianne La Havas provided an uplifting conclusion to the day’s headliners, it was talented keyboardist/singer Reuben James who brought his nine-piece band to the small D-Railed stage for a more intimate closing set. With the likes of Gareth Lockrane, Jay Phelps, Tom Ford and some of London’s finest backing vocalists all present, James proved himself a charismatic and multi-faceted bandleader. And just as the day began, James’ take on ‘Everybody Loves The Sunshine’ – with his 1970s talkbox-fuelled vocals soaring high, it was a suitably soulful sign off for a day packed with musical delights in the hazy heat.