With the schedule checked and double-checked, and with not too many clashes or overlaps to worry about, we found ourselves joining the annual pilgrimage to Glynde Place for a weekend of truly legendary, and the best of the new, performers across the jazz, soul, funk and global music spectrums.
With a number of original Brit Funk bands on the bill, it fell to Rotterdam’s Another Taste who flew in that morning and delivered a joyful set of 1980s Jazz Funk, Dutch style. Their sound was reminiscent of great bands such as Freeez and Shakatak with keyboard heavy riffs, fast, fluid bass and the gorgeous voice of Sarina Voom, which got the early bird crowd dancing. This very solid act, with an exceptional set that we could have listened to all day, was a great way to open the main stage, despite the sideways rain.
Taking shelter in the South Downs tent and, after a few technical issues, Gaby Moreno brought some Guatemalan sunshine to a soggy crowd. Playing selections from her latest album Dusk, ‘New Dawn’ had a lilting bass and brushed drums with a real Western feel with Moreno singing in English. ‘Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps’ had a sultry swagger with a rolled tongue when the lyrics turned to Spanish. ‘Por Que te Vas’ was a sultry traditional Spanish number from the Puss In Boots soundtrack, followed by a brace of blues, one in Spanish, one in English, led by her scratchy guitar licks and aided by a sumptuous organ solo.
With the wet and windy weather continuing, British/Brazilian singer guitarist Liana Flores’s gentle bossa nova saw her pianist switching to cello for ‘I Wish For The Rain’’ with Flores’ soft, sweet vocals. This was perfect sunshine music despite the weather and superb versions of Pentangle’s ‘Light Flight’, its hypnotic rhythm a treat with Flores’ clear cut voice scatting over the band, followed by Tom Jobim’s evergreen ‘Wave’.
A quick dash to the South Downs tent was rewarded with some divine disco funk courtesy of Change, with soulful vocals from the three female and the sombrero-wearing lead singer, Rick Brennan. Highlights here were ‘Hold Tight’ and ‘Holiday’ which really got the Saturday night party started.
It was back into the elements as ‘Me And Baby Brother’ wafted over the grounds to kick off Funk legends War’s set. 76 year old original member Lonnie Jordan on lead vocals and keyboards led the band in a set that brought joy to a weather-beaten, but up for it crowd. He announced ”we wrote so many songs we can’t remember them all“ but thankfully the set included many of their biggest hits such as ‘Galaxy’, with Jordan on timbales during the bass solo and ‘The Cisco Kid’. Their signature harmonica backing was present throughout a set of classics written when they were “young, dumb and full of fun”. Jordan’s voice remains impressively strong as evidenced on ‘The World Is A Ghetto’ which featured a superb sax solo from Scott Martin and was declared a message of brotherly love. ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends?’ was the obvious choice to follow with a slight reggae rhythm propelling Jordan’s soulful voice on this plea for social justice. They returned for an encore and it was cowbell all the way for the classic ‘Low Rider’, with The Roots’ Questlove guesting on drums, with a verse of Coltrane’s ‘A Love Supreme’ thrown in for good measure.
Chucho Valdes’ intricate, ever inventive, piano playing glided over driving drum and congas patterns in a heavily percussive set, as expected from the founder of Afro-Cuban legends Irakere.
As the rain continued, Thee Sacred Souls took to the main North Downs stage with their retro sweet soul sound. ‘Lucid Girl’ was blissful despite the weather, with lead singer Josh Lane’s falsetto giving warmth to a bedraggled audience. “Will I See You Again’ saw Lane join the crowd, serenading the lucky few at the front. Although the weather was foul, there were smiles everywhere as people swayed to the mellow grooves coming from the band. New song ‘Any Old Fool’ featured an Archie Bell ‘Tighten Up’ style guitar riff, while ‘Easier Said Than Done’ was blissful and helped detract from the increasingly heavy rain, as Lane and the backing singers’ voices soared over the arena.
The late Gil Scott-Heron’s musical partner Brian Jackson paid tribute to “those whose shoulders we stand on, particularly Sly Stone.” The classic ‘Lady Day and John Coltrane’ intro got the crowd dancing, with Jackson hammering the keys, going into a beautiful solo before a huge finish. The poignant ‘We Almost Lost Detroit’ showcased his strong soul voice, while ‘Home Is Where The Hatred Is’, remains a great groover, despite the lyrical content sadly still relevant today. This was an extended version with plenty of space for the percussionist to step up and solo. Jackson’s voice had a touch of Curtis Mayfield and he switched from piano to flute throughout the set. The recently released Masters At Work-produced ‘It’s Your World’ was a complete joy to witness. The final number was prefaced by Jackson playfully declaring, “As an old Creole friend of mine used to say, “uno dos, uno dos tres quatro“ the timeless ‘The Bottle’ had the whole tent dancing and singing along.
The Roots opened with Instant Funk’s Salsoul classic ‘I Got My Mind Made Up’ and continued with a super tight set of rap and funk delights propelled by Questlove’s drums, assisted by a DJ and sousaphone player produced an absolutely solid sound. Donald Byrd’s ‘Change’ with heavy bass and brass provided the backbone for rapper Black Thought to rhyme over. The whole set was bouncy and super funky, with nods to James Brown and Bob Marley. The non-stop party continued with sax, bass and keytar plus sousaphone riffing on ‘Seven Nation Army’ and ‘Move On Up’ spliced with ‘Apache’, before we had to leave for the highlight of the weekend.
It seemed as if the whole festival crowd crammed into the South Downs tent for Smokey Robinson who took the stage at 9pm. An overture of classic melodies played before Smokey appeared singing ‘Being With You’. Every song intro caused shivers and goosepimples: ‘I Second That Emotion’, ‘You Really Got A Hold On Me’, both had everyone singing and swaying along. It’s the 50th anniversary of the Quiet Storm album and the title track still sounded fresh; a song that draws you in and envelops you. He talked about the early days of Motown and the tours, where he wrote ‘The Way You Do The Things You Do’ for The Temptations. Smokey ran back and forth across the stage during a Temptations melody, which of course included ‘Get Ready’ and ‘My Girl’. Looking decades younger than his 85 years and proving his sweet voice and breath control were as perfect as ever on ‘Ooh Baby Baby’, his falsetto floating above the band. A vampy jazz piano intro for ‘Fly Me To The Moon’ gave the band space to work out. He praised Stevie Wonder before ‘Tears Of A Clown, which Wonder co-wrote. Smokey left the stage just as ‘Tracks Of My Tears’ started, but returned on cue for the opening line. The crowd were word perfect, unsurprisingly given that this man wrote many of the eternally loved soul classics of the 60s and 70s.
We left on a high, aware that we had just been in the presence of greatness, as wunderkind, multi-Grammy winner Jacob Collier was mesmerising the crowd with his dazzling dexterity. He’s come a long way since his first appearance here back in 2016.
Sunday
There was a slow start, as on the main stage Central Line were over an hour late starting due to soundcheck issues. We waited until 1:30 then gave up and went to see the Pete Roth Trio featuring Yes and King Crimson drummer, Bill Bruford. The gentle start, perfect for early Sunday afternoon, saw Roth’s electric guitar soloing around Mike Pratt’s solid bass lines and Bruford’s punchy drum rhythms, slowly building to a funky jazz rock climax with intricate stick work utilising every part of his small kit. The next song used guitar synth effects with powerful bass lines but we couldn’t take our eyes off Bruford’s incredible technique, locking in on hi-hat and snare, propping up the wah wah guitar on a heavy psychedelic number. The trio maintained a solid groove throughout without getting too noodley. Bruford announced “We’re going to make a bit more noise for a couple of minutes“ before they launched into a powerful collaboration on the final jazz rock wig out.
Rain stopped play for a while so we headed to the South Downs tent for Jose James at 2:45. Drums, bass and spacey synth welcomed James on stage for ‘Tokyo Daydream’; a nod to 80s jazz pop. A slow-paced cover of Michael Jackson’s ‘Rock With You’ came next before showcasing songs from his ‘1978’ album. Special guest 21-year-old saxophonist Ebban Dorsey, showed her star potential on Herbie Hancock’s classic ‘I Thought It Was You’, with James filming her on his phone as she played a gorgeous solo. James gave thanks to Gilles Peterson for his support and influences, such as the Freestyle Fellowship hip hop cover, which exuded Gil Scott-Heron vibes and demonstrated James’s rapid fire lyric delivery.
The torrential rain and slower pace today allowed plenty of time to refuel and to meet and chat to new friends before we caught Atmosfear, whose classic early 80s sound added to the strong lineup of original jazz funk bands. Thumb slap bass featured heavily with solid drums, synth and sax adding texture. With original Jazz Warrior Orphy Robinson on vibes, they paid tribute to fellow Brit Funkers with the cream of the crop ‘Summer Freez’ which was rounded off with Shelly Debenham’s soulful vocal sparring with the sax. Throughout the whole set, it was a sea of smiles and dancing. Every song was a floor filler, their infectious sound fuelled a late afternoon party. They overran their time slot by a few minutes but none of the dancers were complaining.
En Vogue took to the main stage wearing different coloured double breasted suits, and started big with ‘My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)’, their gorgeous harmonies backed by a supertight band. Salt ‘n’ Pepa’s ‘Whatta Man’ had a strong groove with sublime vocals and a shout of “where my ladies at?” ‘Free Your Mind’ saw the group strutting across the stage as the whole arena sang and danced along. They revealed their influences with a medley that included Aretha’s ‘Rock Steady’, ‘Ring My Bell’, ‘Best Of My Love’, ‘Respect’ and ‘Lady Marmalade’. A perfectly-paced set to cheer up the damp crowd and to usher in the evening.
The party continued on the main stage with a satisfaction guaranteed set of dance classics from Nile Rodgers & Chic. From ‘Le Freak’ to ‘Everybody Dance’ and ‘I Want Your Love’, to the Sister Sledge and Diana Ross disco bangers he wrote, Rodgers delighted the up-for-it audience.
Maxwell closed out the weekend with a UK-exclusive performance that featured his rich vocals backed by joyful arrangements and strong backing vocals on a wide-ranging set that proved his headline slot was well deserved.
It was a very wet, windy but absolutely wonderful weekend. Next year promises to be bigger and better than ever with the main North Downs stage opening on the Friday for the first time.
Love Supreme Festival, Glynde Place 5th – 6th July 2024
Super early bird tickets for next year are now on sale from here.
