Edinburgh Jazz Festival review: Soweto Kinch Quartet, George Square Spiegeltent, Edinburgh
Soweto Kinch Quartet, George Square Spiegeltent, Edinburgh ****
Together, they promised “sweat and gutbucket jazz music,” although the first sound from the stage was the retro-futuristic pulse of electronic loops, before this impish muzak melted away to be replaced by Lewis’s dexterous decoration, Kinch’s mellow tones and Jurd’s assured and steady solo.
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Hide AdThere was hip supper club warmth to the likes of Something Felt. Not for the last time Kinch deferred to his bandmates before returning to the spotlight with a solo looped back on itself with added juddering distortion. As the wind buffeted the tent, his sax became ever stormier and Lewis responded with some tempestuous runs.
The second half opened with Kinch and Lewis at their most lithe and liberated as they tag-teamed with relish on a rendition of John Coltrane’s Mr Day.
It was harder to engage with the fidgety free association which followed but there was wholehearted audience participation in one of Kinch’s trademark freestyle raps, brought to you by the letters in EJazz – the words “energy”, “joy” and “abstract” were all suggested by the crowd and duly woven into his verse like an instant critique of Kinch’s musical qualities.
FIONA SHEPHERD