Prom 21 (18.08.21) - Nubya Garcia

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

19:30 Wednesday 18 August 2021 ON TV
Royal Albert Hall

Nubya Garcia saxophone

British saxophonist, composer, DJ and bandleader Nubya Garcia is one of the brightest of a new generation of jazz talent, drawing comparison with greats such as Sonny Rollins and Dexter Gordon. Named a ‘major voice’ by The New York Times, she has devised a brand of ‘eclectic, danceable, political jazz’ that draws on influences from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Tonight marks her Proms debut.

(No programme listed at present)

[Constantbee]

The Somewhat Delayed Jazz Prom Thread

What, no mention of Nubya Garcia's Prom tonight on the Proms Concert thread? Must be an oversight, surely. Best live gig I've heard for ages - well maybe since Kokoroko last year, which was also Great to hear Ms Maurice again btw. Must be some of the best live jazz in the world at the moment, imho. A dazzling, eclectic blend of jazz from reggae through fusion to latin. Great rapport with the audience, both in the hall and on air. Loved it. Highly recommended

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

I've heard her before a few times and thought her one of the best coming up. I must admit though I didn't think her playing came together tonight as it has before, maybe the pressure of the event, but those short repeat phrases just went on too long and seemed to betray a lack of any real ideas. The rest of the band was more interesting. But then I'm a grumpy old Bluenote pensioner/geezer and this is her world, definitely not aimed at me, and I'm fine with that. Agree about the rapport with the audience, which is great and proves my "take" a grumpy minority!

[bluestateprommer]

Heard on iPlayer this jazz Prom today. It was OK, if not really knocking my socks off. Ironically, the most interesting number for me might have been the one without her, namely the double-bass solo by Daniel Casimir. NG and her colleagues played many of the tracks from her new album Source (which I've not heard or sampled at all, for the record). The set list and most of the musicians' names are archived in the Forum Calendar entry, although my one quibble on that point is that NG identified the vocal trio as "Vula, Ladonna, and Michelle" without ever mentioning their last names, AFAICT, so I can't list their full names. Possible singers might be Vula Malinga, Ladonna Harley Peters, Ladonna Young, and Michelle Escoffery, but in reality, I've no idea. Anyway....

[Serial_Apologist]

I thought it best to publicise it under the regular jazz for the week thread, given the ambivalence often expressed on the forum about having non-classical genres at The Proms. Here is the link to Sounds for those (such as me) who didn't get to hear tonight:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000ys41

[Serial_Apologist]

Heard on iPlayer this jazz Prom today. It was OK, if not really knocking my socks off. Ironically, the most interesting number for me might have been the one without her, namely the double-bass solo by Daniel Casimir. NG and her colleagues played many of the tracks from her new album Source (which I've not heard or sampled at all, for the record). The set list and most of the musicians' names are archived in the Forum Calendar entry, although my one quibble on that point is that NG identified the vocal trio as "Vula, Ladonna, and Michelle" without ever mentioning their last names, AFAICT, so I can't list their full names. Possible singers might be Vula Malinga, Ladonna Harley Peters, Ladonna Young, and Michelle Escoffery, but in reality, I've no idea. Anyway....

I've linked to Sounds on the separate thread for this Prom. As you say, no mention of the vocalists' names - disgraceful.

[Quarky]

Nubya has found her feet and is playing the music she wants to play. Good luck to her, and I hope she increases her fame and fortune.

A review of her album Source:: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums...garcia-source/

I'm not sure I fit easily into her fan base, but the music is easy on the ear, and I felt the other musicians added a great deal to the music. Would have liked to have heard more of Ms. Maurice.

[Quarky]

The Times review gives it 4 stars, the Telegraph 5. Unfortunately, I don't subscribe to either, so I can't read them. But I think it's on the box tonight.

[Serial_Apologist]

The Times review gives it 4 stars, the Telegraph 5. Unfortunately, I don't subscribe to either, so I can't read them. But I think it's on the box tonight.

It is - on BBC4 at 7pm.

[Serial_Apologist]

It did look good on telly tonight. Things really started to take off in the third number played - some real interaction going on there, stretching the framework to almost breaking point at one spot in Nubya's solo and making things happen with the drummer. The pianist (whose facial gestures strongly reminded me of Ginger Baker's behind the drums at the... famous Albert Hall Cream gig*) is arguably the most developed of the band musically and technically; the trumpeter is good but perhaps underpowered for some of the numbers. One thing about the current young crop is that the drummers always keep things interesting, and, unlike in the 1970s/80s, never resort to the numbskulling backbeat in funkier numbers.

*Jack Bruce said, "I think people turned up to Cream gigs to see if Ginger was going to die"!

[Serial_Apologist]

Listeners to this Prom who might have been impressed by her keyboards player might like to know that I've provided a couple of links to other stuff he's done on the Jazz forum.