“I’m lucky enough to share the stage with people I wanna spend time with off stage as well as on it – and they’re some of the most talented musicians I’ve ever heard,” shares Joe Armon-Jones towards the end of his Sunday night performance at Camden’s Roundhouse. It’s a heartfelt statement that captures the essence of the night – a session comprised of incredible talent, each given time to shine and the room to show appreciation and respect for one other’s craft.
The In The Round Festival programming sees Joe bring together some of the biggest names in the UK’s contemporary jazz scene. Nala Sinephro and Yazmin Lacey are billed as guests, while surprise appearances from Ezra Collective bandmate James Mollison, Nubya Garcia, and Hak Baker are met with applause from the audience. Musical medicine man Asheber, Sons of Kemet drummer Eddie Hick, and bass player Mutale Chashi complete the formidable lineup.
Sheffield-based Sinai Sound System powers the evening – a handbuilt rig tailored for contemporary roots reggae. “I think dub music is one of the most beautiful and inspiring forms of music,” Joe said on the release of his recent single with Hak Baker. Having long held these influences within his solo endeavours, Sinai is a particularly apt partner to broadcast the unique night of music ahead.
As a performance, it feels less like a headline slot than a casual jam session between friends, a feeling accentuated by the setting. The venue’s unique circular stage is adorned with potted plants, cosy furnishings, and sofas that the musicians relax into, heads nodding in appreciation throughout the night. The audience is also treated to several memorable exclusives, making the performance feel even more intimate for the dedicated fans in the venue.
Despite the heavyweight sound system, we’re gently led into the set. The first performer to enter is a spotlit Nala Sinephro, who holds onlookers in silence with a twinkling harp solo. Fellow band members quietly enter the fold in relative darkness and settle into the space. “Thank you all for coming,“ the bandleader addresses the audience in a typically understated fashion. “I’m gonna enjoy my happy place for the next two hours – so see you on the other side.”
After a couple of songs to introduce the core band to the audience, Yazmin Lacey is called to the stage, whose highlights include a dub-infused reimagining of Jai Paul’s ‘BTSTU’. An energetic Hak Baker then enters the fray. The warm and appreciative – if a little sparse – Sunday night crowd is slightly reluctant to chant lyrics back at the energetic Baker. Still, his on-stage charm and rendition of ‘Wrong Side of Town’ get those in the standing section moving their feet.
Despite being top of the bill, Joe does what all great bandleaders do best: he provides a platform for his collaborators to shine. The moment of the evening that encapsulates their collective talent is an ethereal cover of Frank Zappa’s ‘Watermelon in Easter Hay’. It’s a ten-minute epic that has everyone in the venue captivated from start to finish, with intricately layered instrumentation and improvisations coming together for a truly magical moment. To close off the night, the energy is cranked up and the sound system shines with a hat trick of dub-heavy tunes fronted by the mystic voice of Asheber.
All in all, the evening’s events are an absolute treat for fans of Joe and his collaborators up on stage. It’s a performance that deftly showcases each of them at the top of their game – a place they’re clearly happy to be together.
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Words: Dan McCarthy
