Summer is a great time of year to be a music fan. The UK festival scene is bigger than it ever has been before: the popularity of jazz festivals (and jazz acts at mainstream festivals) is particularly on the rise, with the likes of Love Supreme Festival in East Sussex and We Out Here Festival in Dorset being bucket list events for jazz fans. From Glastonbury down to tiny local festivals, you can discover something new and exciting in the genre wherever you end up this summer. Here are five up-and-coming, jazz-influenced artists to look out for at this years’ festivals.
Knats
Knats are a bassist-drummer duo originally from Newcastle. They’re now based in London and play as a quintet, although on hearing their music, you’d likely expect to see DJ decks onstage rather than a five-piece band. Their drummer, King David Ike Elechi, has a unique talent for playing live drums in a drum and bass style, which, when combined with the virtuosic jazz played by the other musicians, creates an energetic and unusual form of live dance music.
For fans of: ‘drum and bass’, in both the literal and figurative senses of the phrase
Where to catch them: Shindig Festival (Somerset), Love Supreme Festival (East Sussex), Mostly Jazz, Funk & Soul Festival (Birmingham), Novum Festival (Newcastle), Victorious Festival (Portsmouth)
Nubya Garcia
Nubya Garcia, a composer and tenor saxophonist from London, already has a number of impressive musical achievements to her name, including an NPR Tiny Desk appearance and a Mercury Prize nomination. She takes inspiration from so many genres – from Coltrane-style hard bop to contemporary R&B – that it almost feels wrong to simply call her a jazz musician. This festival season, she’ll be touring her new orchestral album Odyssey, scheduled for release in September 2024.
For fans of: saxophones, in any and every style of music
Where to catch her: All Points East (London), Wild Fields Festival (Norwich), Forwards Festival (Bristol)
Oreglo
Much like British jazz royalty Ezra Collective, London-based quartet Oreglo met on the youth programme Tomorrow’s Warriors. The group are taking part in the jazz fusion revival taking place in the London jazz scene at the moment, and their youthful stage presence brings infectious energy to their performances. Oreglo’s unique sound is, in part, thanks to tuba player Teigan Hastings, who was added to the lineup after the band’s original bass player quit. Having a brass instrument in the rhythm section demonstrates the kind of innovation that the band pride themselves on.
For fans of: jazz fusion, but with TUBA
Where to catch them: Love Supreme Festival (East Sussex), We Out Here Festival (Dorset), or at their headline show at The Lower Third (London)
Nubiyan Twist
Hot off the release of their latest album Find Your Flame, Sheffield-based nonet Nubiyan Twist are touring this year’s UK festival scene with their newly recruited singer Aziza Jaye. The group have fused jazz with funk, soul, afrobeat and hip-hop to create some of the tightest grooves and catchiest licks you’ll hear all summer. After seeing the group recently in Leeds, I can confirm that their live sets are 90-minute dance parties, with a particular highlight being an insane drum and percussion battle between bandleader Tom Excell and drummer Finn Booth.
For fans of: a good time!!
Where to catch them: Glastonbury Festival (Somerset), Mostly Jazz, Funk & Soul Festival (Birmingham), Ealing Jazz Festival (London), Moovin Festival (Stockport)
Bel Cobain
Jazz-influenced singer-songwriter Bel Cobain, from East London, could be described as a poet as well as a musician. She tells honest stories of loneliness, generational trauma and female empowerment with a matter-of-fact cadence, accompanied by a jazz rhythm section. Her music is a rare intersection of the jazz and singer-songwriter scenes in London, bridged by her smooth and ethereal vocals.
For fans of: mellow, jazzy R&B
Where to catch her: Glastonbury Festival (Somerset), We Out Here Festival (Dorset), Somerset House Summer Series (London)
