For the last 3 years now I have watched the talented young singer Zara McFarlane, and her no less talented band, go from a young band starting out on their musical journey into an assured, confident, and accomplished musical unit. On our first meeting, as she supported Gregory Porter on one of his early visits for us here at SoulandJazz, she totally enchanted me with her convincing vocal delivery and ‘heart laid bare’ performance and I knew her journey would be a good one. 3 years later and I found myself at Richmix in London’s Shoreditch as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival watching the consummate finished article as she rocked, swayed and wowed the mixed audience of hipsters, headz and post 40s. Backed by a band made up of some of the UK’s best young jazz musicians, the all equally brilliant Binker Golding (Sax), Max Luthert III (Double Bass), Peter Edwards (Keys), Moses Boyd (Drums) (off on duty with another band this night) and Tello Morgado (Percussion) she delivered the best performance by far of all that I have seen from her. With two brilliant LP’s under her belt (‘Until Tomorrow’, ‘If You Knew Her’ – both on Brownswood), a MOBO award, and a superb band this lady has set the bar for quality music in the UK. The evening got even better thanks to the legendary Tony Nwachukwu (Attica Blues / Red Bull Academy / CDR) taking care of the decks. @ Tabitha Timothy
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 19:47:45 +0000