BLACK MAMBA AT STOREY'S FIELD FOR JAZZ FESTIVAL
Black Mamba - the flamboyant finale of the Cambridge Jazz Festival - in the city that is - made a splendid farewell last night after the festival’s two weeks of excellent bands and wonderful performances. Black Mamba is a group with massive confidence, a singer with endless chutzpah and a line up of musicians with tremendous talent. The group barely stopped moving for a ninety minute spectacular . It began with a static all-standing audience - and opened with some cool soulful songs, the group represented Portugal in last year’s Eurovision. Do they have lots to give? Have they got tonnes of va va room? Yes and yes
But as I asked the band after their exhausting performance “Is it Jazz?”
Their superb pianist was first to explode with a faux-indignant “Of course it is” As well he might. His performance on stage was as accomplished as any top jazz pianist around - he even hosted a delightful Oscar Peterson-style solo as part of the elaborate wind down . It was as cool jazzy as they come. Other band members were just as emphatic “Sure we play Rock ‘n roll“ exclaimed Pedro the guitarist and singer “but look at the line up!”
Street wise jazzy, Black Mamba
True it is disparate, exceptional and funky. Three percussionists with two keyboards? Two fabulous guitarists, the bassist, cool as bassists always are, could have been a bare-chested young Keith Richards (I am sticking with that despite squeaks of protest) and a lead singer with a voice variously likened to Elton John (the range, the clarity were all there) and Freddy Mercury (my call) and some virtuoso drumming from Miguel Casais as deft as any jazz star.. All sounds generated in house on stage. A roving ‘engineer’ wandered the concert space with his own override keyboard for the sound system wallah in the loft above the space, but essentially Black Mamba is its own creation
Pedro Tatanka, the band leader with charisma plus and drummer Miguel Casais are both part of the solid if unusual framework for this exciting band. But what a result. The elegant techno-forward Storey’s Field show which began with an interested audience, ended their super dynamic whole piece set with a crowd of devotees bouncing up and down, waving arms and ,yes, even dancing.
It was all familiar in a heart warming way, and if there were some disgruntled jazz purists harrumphing on the sidelines, yes they had a point, but the energising effect of Black Mamba is genuine fun, accomplished - and in the end, shakes you up to a better place, as the best of music whatever the category, always does.
Is it Jazz? Who cares, it was a brilliant night out.
