Photo: Press
The bass is top of the musical food chain, it moves leisurely but effectively, the synth is like Lucifer, a serpentine instrument, and the drum is jaunty or a senseless elephant stomping its way through the musical jungle, says Jah Wobble, formerly of Public Image Limited.
We’re part way through the second half of the set and a smartly dressed Wobble is in witty form and exposing his psychedelic imagination that’s only exceeded in flamboyance by the explosion of colour his virtuoso musicians playin on top of his basslines.
On trumpet we have a gent who looks fell out of a scene in Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrell’s, he plays smoky jazz tones that makes all these sparkling martini glasses being delivered by waiters make us feel whisked away into old Soho.
The lightening quick keys, guitar and drum players are all dressed down more causally, and contrast with the dapper audience, who are all seated chewing mercilessly on their bits of steak and romantic deserts. The working class roots of Wobble and his former bandmate Lydon, would probably shudder at the lavishness and excess that this aristocratic scene, but a more mature Wobble seems to embrace the opportunity and honour of playing at the world’s most prestigious jazz club.
But he’s not here to play by the rules: the man who brought a dub sensibility to punk rock with the PiL album Metal Box is in no mood for jazz by numbers. The promoters knows this: “I normally ask you to be quiet but tonight I’m just going to wish you good luck,” says the promoters introducing a band who with a reputation for vomit-inducing levels of low end.
To be fair though they don’t go all out blaze of noise, they start out at palatable levels. The six-piece open the set with a discordant chaos that unsettles and sees audience taking deep gulps of their strong, beautifully crafted cocktails. They move through ambient samples and dizzying drum fills and the sonics heighten the mood in the dimly-lit room accented by brass rails and red lamps.
It’s not solely instrumental. A singer named Aurora Dawn from Alabama 3 brings in a powerful trip-hop vocal before they exit the stage, and does a phenomenal job. Fela Kuti’s niece then takes to the spotlight to promote a campaign to preserve Fela Kuti’s archive, they’re up-scaling the effort now it’s 20 years since his death with a crowd funding campaign.
The second half is a semi-improvisational piece with more dub bent than earlier. Aurora Dawn and Fela’s niece dance at the side whilst the rest of the crowd threaten to dance, but don’t quite – it is Sunday to be fair. We remain sat on the edge of our seats and appreciate the dynamic show. It's one that proves that Wobble, who’s gone through the stress of legal battles with John Lydon, is powering through and reflecting the richness that a life spent dedicated to hearing new things outside of prescribed radio playlists gives.
It would be great to see the club inviting more bands of Wobble's mindset, too, where jazz is abided by in the loosest possible sense and broader sounds from all over the world are brought in without a note or a single beat being dropped. Top band.
