Nala Sinephro at Royal Festival Hall: Show Review
Tonight, myself and 2,700 others flock to London’s iconic Royal Festival Hall to experience Nala Sinephro’s Endlessness in its entirety. A night that will undoubtedly be mentioned in the same breath as Miles Davis’ 1984 show on the same stage. That is not a statement that can be thrown around lightly. This album marks a new age of jazz, a postmodern jazz renaissance, with all the key players at the heart of it. Nala invites icons of London’s New Jazz movement such as Nubya Garcia, Ezra Collective’s James Mollinson, Kokoroko’s Sheila Maurice-Grey and Natcyet Wakili of Sons of Kemet, among many others.
For this unforgettable affair, Nala summons the incredible Yussef Dayes on drums, James Mollinson on saxophone and Dwayne ‘Wonky Logic’ Kilvington on keys to bring this sensational album to life. Hosting this spectacle at The Royal Festival Hall could not be more perfect. The auditorium has a futuristic yet undeniably mid-century chic, a quality mirrored in Nala’s compositions, where the harp and modular synth are seamlessly married. Both instruments hold vastly different cultural significance, which makes their collision all the more remarkable. Nala pays homage to Dorothy Ashby, the visionary jazz musician who boldly placed the harp at the centre of her work back in 1958. As she turns her back on the harp she is transported back to the present day, or at least 2007, where she is faced with the Prophet ’08 modular synth. This unconventional blend of instrumentation creates a bridge between the past, present and future of jazz to create something unapologetically beautiful.
Over the span of fourty-five minutes endlessness transcends the listener to a place of serenity. Each and every artist involved in the process is pivotal to the final product without aiming to steal the spotlight. Perched on the raised platform to the left of the stage, I had a front-row seat to witness Yussef Dayes, who delivered a relentless yet subtle showcase of drumming excellence at the highest level. The same could be said for Mollinson who selectively inserts himself in the ensemble to deliver selfless beautiful notes, mimicking Nala’s compositions. It's incredible to observe 4 exceptionally talented musicians altruistically building towards the same goal.
Historically, the harp has been linked to hypnotic practices, guiding listeners into a trance. Over the course of this two-hour performance, I found myself completely losing track of time. The only thing anchoring me to reality was Yussef Dayes’ clap snare which snapped me back to attention. This whole ordeal reminded me of that scene in Get Out where Daniel Kaluuya’s character is placed under hypnosis by a simple tap of a spoon against a teacup. Much less intense though.
The second portion of this showcase leaned into an improvisational, free-jazz approach. These compositions felt influenced by Nala’s latest endeavor, scoring Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine”. An A24 produced Biopic surrounding the UFC fighter Mark Kerr. If I were to create a venn diagram for fans of arthouse cinema, the UFC and Nala Sinephro, I would predict that the intersection would be fairly sparse. Nonetheless, Nala stole the show and injected so much emotion into the film. The cinematic nature of these arrangements was a perfect cool-down from the occasionally erratic intensity of “Endlessness”. With incredibly low, sustained notes reverberating throughout the auditorium a sense of impending doom settles in, only to be gently dissolved by the warm embrace of Nala’s harp.
Performances like these don’t simply end, they stay with you, lingering in your mind in the best possible way. Even now, a week after the final note was laid down I still feel connected to the art.
photos by Sam Huddleston
