Review by Gareth Morgan

If you’re thirty something, the chances are you would have grown up with bands such as Incognito, The Brand New Heavies and Omar in your peripheral hearing. These bands were the foundation of a whole new scene called acid jazz. With labels such as Mo Wax, Talking Loud and Blue Note supporting this new scene, acid jazz became an overnight sensation and inspired artist’s such as Jamiroquai and indeed took inspiration from people like Stevie Wonder. The music had soul and warmth, unlike a lot of modern music today.

Seeing the line up for the Greenwich Beer and Jazz Festival my sense of anticipation was on high alert.

Over the five days the line up looked like this: Becki Higgins, Snowboy, James Taylor Quartet, Polly & The Billets Doux, Hayseed Dixie, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Size Nine, The Deep Mo, Brand New Heavies, Adrian Edmonson & the Bad Shepherds, James Pearson Trio, Tony Hadley & his swing band, Prince Samspon, Omar and Incognito. Hmm, not bad!

I decided to cover the Saturday and Monday. As I made my way to the entrance on the Saturday, I could immediately tell this festival was going to be special. They gave you a branded glass from which to drink your beer, none of your wobbly plastic containers here. Great start organisers. Then we got an itinerary of the performances along with a beer menu of around 120 different varieties. Ok, I may not get to taste all of them, but I’ll give it a go.

So, Saturday had The Brand New Heavies headlining, along with support from Deep Mo and Size Nine. Now I must give a very deserved mention to Size Nine. I’d never heard their material before, but was in awe at their super musicianship and original music. Size Nine are an eight piece band hailing from deepest, darkest Sarfff London. Front lady Breezy Lee Althelion entertained the crowd with her energy and powerful voice and these guys absolutely rocked the afternoon crowd, including me. With a brass section that the Salvation Army would have been proud of and them touting themselves as ‘London’s number One Buttshaking Latin Funk Soul Ska Orchestra’, I for one will be listening to more of their material. Check out some of the music on their site, it really is that good.

Size Nine

After Size Nine, I wandered around various beer tents sampling delights such as chocolate beer and strawberry ale as this was also a beer festival lest we forget. But alas, I was yearning for something less exotic, so to the Budvar tent I trotted. I only intended staying there for a drink, but must admit I got talking to a group of ladies and kind of lost track of time. Suffice to say I missed Deep Mo’s performance which wasn’t the best thing to do.

I made my way back to the stage in readiness for the Brand New Heavies and was not disappointed. The music was as you would expect from the Heavies, but it was also the crowd that were making this event special. This had to be the friendliest crowd I’d seen in London for a long time, no wonder they weren’t afraid to give you a real glass at the door. The Heavies’ set included some of their well known ones such as Stay This Way, Midnight at the Oasis as well as newer material. They came back on stage to cries of ‘more’ and belted out You are the Universe which is one of my personal favourites of all time. This certainly got the crowd into a frenzy and I even found myself dancing, or wobbling in time with the music to be more accurate. What a day and I had it all to do again on Monday.

Monday saw Prince Sampson, Omar and Incognito performing, so I decided to get there mid-afternoon an hour or so before Omar was due to play. Again I must mention the friendly crowd. I go to Southport Weekender which is also known for being very friendly, but this festival was definitely as friendly as Southport, if not more so. That takes a lot for me to say but it’s true.

Omar came on to a very warm reception and stuck with a lot of newer material as well as engaging with the crowd in banter. He did play quite a few tracks from the album There’s Nothing Like This and sung the track too, which brought a little tear to my eye. Or was it down to the honey pale ale I was trying out? Incognito were on after Omar and whilst waiting, Bluey from Incognito came amongst the crowd and spoke to everyone around him. He wasn’t doing it for attention, you could tell the man felt a genuine humbleness which really touched me. I wouldn’t mind his money though, I must admit!

If Size Nine and the Heavies on Saturday were semi finalists, Incognito were winners of the World Cup. They were simply perfect. Tracks such as Still a Friend of Mine (who I defy anybody  to listen to and not feel happy), Smiling Faces (see what I did there) and Brother Sister were belted out with gusto and passion. The night flew past and I was genuinely sad it had ended. What a weekend.

Incognito

If you missed the Greenwich Beer and Jazz Festival, fear not! They are doing more less the same show again, this time at Hampton Court Palace in August. Obviously named the Hampton Court Beer and Jazz Festival, I for one cannot wait for this. Only this time I have booked off the relevant days from work and will be in attendance for every show. Bring it on!