CAMILLA GEORGE - The People Could Fly
UBUNTU UBU0015
Camilla George - alto sax; Sarah Tandy - piano, rhodes; Daniel Casimir - bass; Femi Koleoso -drums; Winston Clifford - drums; Omar Lye-Fook -vocals; Cherise Adams-Burnett -vocals; Shirley Tetteh - guitar; Quentin Collins - trumpet
A lot has happened since Camilla George’s debut ‘Isang’ was released in 2016 - the South London scene with which she is linked through a web of associations, notably through Gary Crosby and Janine Irons’ pivotal Tomorrow’s Warriors, has been making headlines and giving feature writers around the world material for countless articles about the New British Jazz Explosion. If ‘Isang’ perhaps hinted at more potential than it delivered, this sophomore effort shows how far the scene and the individual players have developed in the intervening time. George has wisely retained her excellent band - all of whom are now emerging as stars in their own right - and expanded the line-up to present a package that is both more ambitious and more fully realised. The energy and poise exuded from Casimir’s bass solo on ‘He Lion, Bruh Bear, Bruh Rabbit’, the interplay on the hyped, funky “How Nehemiah Got Free” between Casimir, elder statesman Winston Clifford and Sarah Tandy’s fluid, effortless rhodes solo, and the leader’s own full-toned pithy statements throughout the album show evidence of a new confidence and creative assertiveness.
The project is thematically based around folk tales George heard as a child in Nigeria, and the echoes of them that can be found throughout the cultures of the African diaspora. The shadows of slavery and oppression are evoked in the affecting ballad ‘Little Eight John”, beautifully sung by Cherise Adams-Burnett, in titles like ‘The Most Useful Slave’ and in the story underlying the title track, a lilting 12/8 with an irresistibly infectious contribution from the excellent Shirley Tetteh which showcases her clear, warm tone and rhythmic ingenuity. ‘Carrying The Runnings Away’ has a feature for Clifford, who shares drum duties for Femi Koleoso - one assumes the latter’s career must now seriously compromise his availability - and demonstrates yet again what an amazing, undervalued asset he is to the UK jazz community. Legendary vocalist Omar lends his magnetic presence to the album closer, with young lion Ryan Quigley also present on trumpet to flesh out a version of Curtis Mayfield’s ‘Here But I’m Gone’, transformed into a headlong Drum n’ Bass rush of excitement. This album marks an exciting progression, showing positive proof of Camilla George’s growth as a composer and bandleader, and of the continuing vitality of the UK jazz scene of which she is an integral part.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
UBUNTU UBU0015
Camilla George - alto sax; Sarah Tandy - piano, rhodes; Daniel Casimir - bass; Femi Koleoso -drums; Winston Clifford - drums; Omar Lye-Fook -vocals; Cherise Adams-Burnett -vocals; Shirley Tetteh - guitar; Quentin Collins - trumpet
A lot has happened since Camilla George’s debut ‘Isang’ was released in 2016 - the South London scene with which she is linked through a web of associations, notably through Gary Crosby and Janine Irons’ pivotal Tomorrow’s Warriors, has been making headlines and giving feature writers around the world material for countless articles about the New British Jazz Explosion. If ‘Isang’ perhaps hinted at more potential than it delivered, this sophomore effort shows how far the scene and the individual players have developed in the intervening time. George has wisely retained her excellent band - all of whom are now emerging as stars in their own right - and expanded the line-up to present a package that is both more ambitious and more fully realised. The energy and poise exuded from Casimir’s bass solo on ‘He Lion, Bruh Bear, Bruh Rabbit’, the interplay on the hyped, funky “How Nehemiah Got Free” between Casimir, elder statesman Winston Clifford and Sarah Tandy’s fluid, effortless rhodes solo, and the leader’s own full-toned pithy statements throughout the album show evidence of a new confidence and creative assertiveness.
The project is thematically based around folk tales George heard as a child in Nigeria, and the echoes of them that can be found throughout the cultures of the African diaspora. The shadows of slavery and oppression are evoked in the affecting ballad ‘Little Eight John”, beautifully sung by Cherise Adams-Burnett, in titles like ‘The Most Useful Slave’ and in the story underlying the title track, a lilting 12/8 with an irresistibly infectious contribution from the excellent Shirley Tetteh which showcases her clear, warm tone and rhythmic ingenuity. ‘Carrying The Runnings Away’ has a feature for Clifford, who shares drum duties for Femi Koleoso - one assumes the latter’s career must now seriously compromise his availability - and demonstrates yet again what an amazing, undervalued asset he is to the UK jazz community. Legendary vocalist Omar lends his magnetic presence to the album closer, with young lion Ryan Quigley also present on trumpet to flesh out a version of Curtis Mayfield’s ‘Here But I’m Gone’, transformed into a headlong Drum n’ Bass rush of excitement. This album marks an exciting progression, showing positive proof of Camilla George’s growth as a composer and bandleader, and of the continuing vitality of the UK jazz scene of which she is an integral part.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
