London and NYC Club and Concert Listings
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Concert Review: Bembe Segue - Jazz Cafe, London - Sunday 9 March 2003
Reviewer: Damian Platt
It was one of those interminable and grey March weekends. For the xth year running, as a good Catholic I was trying to use
Lent to partake in alcohol abstinence. This lead to an interesting scenario, as I attempted for the second night in a row to
find a suitable but satisfying non-alcoholic drink. Ginger beer. Have you ordered a one recently? It is about one eighth
the size of a pint. Not suitable. Not satisfying. I got the poor girl behind the bar to pour four ginger beers into a glass so
that I could pretend that I had half a pint on the go. GCSE Mathematics pays.
Enough waffle - the point is that the ginger beer issue could do nothing to dampen the Good Good Vibes I felt as soon as I
walked into the Jazz Café. Those vibes that you feel in your bones, when you know that you won’t be let down. Being
early gave me the opportunity to soak up even more Good Vibes as a horde of enthusiastic and happy punters arrive. As to be
expected there are no types and all sorts. However, fashion choice of Lent 2003 is definitely the big bad woolly pimp peaked
hat look. You know, like the ones from the bar scene in the French Connection, or from an episode of Starsky and Hutch.
The warm up DJ spins some quality tracks including the phat sounds of Domu's 'Save It' and the supatough Bugz in the Attic
remix lick of 'Hold it Down'. There are some heavyweights lurking in the crowd of friends, fans, and fellow musicians. Kaidi Tatham
over near the front, the full Omniverse crew (Marc Mac, Hopper, and Somatik) in the fullest effect, Carina Andersson
(Les Fleurs!), Sarah Button of Creating Patterns fame, DJ Demus, and the delectable Marshmello of Nuwaveradio are all
visible to the discerning eye. It's not long before a bespectacled, voluminous and amiable man introduced to us as MC Ty comes on stage
to instruct the crowd that strictly no stushiness will be tolerated.
And on come all 14 performers - three horns, lead guitar, bass guitar, keys/rhodes, bongos, percussion centre, drums and of
course Miss Segue. Four backing vocals soul sisters take up their positions and smooth us into a warm-up number that gets
peoples feet tap-tapping, and their heads nod-nodding.
Any fears that this might be a downtempo night are soon dispelled as band fills the venue with the broken version of
Milton Nascimento’s glorious Cravo e Canela. Star for the night and all round natural girl Bembe Segue is resplendent in
a fuchsia and black top crowned by a Carmen Miranda barnet (minus fruit) completing the sunny vibe. With genial percussion
and vibes anchor-man Philip Harper letting loose on the whistles it is clear that we are in for a very special treat.
After an initial bout of silence "I can’t speak!" Bembe informs the crew that we’re going to hear “a mixture of old and
new stuff” performed by the fourteen pieces of “pure love and spirit”. According to her, the new stuff is so different it’s
‘scary’. We are soon taken on a trip with a killer rendition of 'In Your Mind', with a special shout to the Co-Op crew;
to those who made it and especially to those who didn’t (because at that very moment they're holding it funkwise another side of the
concrete city). Next up is ‘Sounds of the Now’ – a song composed by Bembe and MC Ty. She tells us that she and MC Ty had had a
‘meeting of the mouths’ (of a strictly MC nature) way back in the day, which lead to the production of an album that no one
bought. Well like she said, we didn’t know did we! Re-release!
The collective then romp joyfully through 'Caged Bird' and
'Amazing'. The gorgeous backing vocalists are faultless. We’re told that one of them had had only made one previous rehearsal,
and in words of Bembe she ‘killed it’. And believe me, she was flawless.
One of the highlights of the night is a track called 'Mother of the Future', featuring on lead vocals the very gifted
Marcia Escoffery (yes, close relation of the equally gifted man like Sean). This track, fast and furious, features some
serious solo artistry. The highlight is an absolutely blistering sax solo by Jason Yarde. The audience is travelling,
bopping, shaking – and greeting tunes with delirious enthusiasm.
After a bumping bassline rendition of the Da One Away composition 'To Tomorrow', Bembe introduces 'Timeshift' – a tune she composed
with sax genius Jason Yarde. “What can I do to get it through – constantly we look for love…”; this track has to be heard
to be believed! It involves complex vocal solos, crescendos, and diminuendos, while at the same time maintaining a raw funk feel.
If this is the scary new stuff then I’m hoping to be very, very frightened in the future, because I’m in need of more!
The performance is a celebration of fun, talent, ‘Nuff-Love’, and pure creativity. A combination of Bembe Segue’s bubbling
and warm charisma, the thorough enjoyment and harmony of all the artists, and the sheer originality and quality of the show,
all make this a night not to be forgotten.
As the band heads off stage the hefty Dollis Hill contingent peels off in the direction of Co-Op. They miss a blinding
encore. MC Ty takes some requests, ‘auctioneer style’, and hypes the collective ‘us’ until the venue is awash with screams,
shouts, whistles, whoops and “Bo!”s.
There is another rendition of 'Caged Bird' in response to popular demand and a brand new funk rocker of a track that features
a stupidly happy keyboard riff, over which Bembe introduces the band. I’d love to list them all here, but didn’t catch
everyone’s name. To cite just a few would be an injustice, as they worked together a dream and rocked it good and proper!
I head out into the March Camden evening in a state of sheer musical intoxication. This abstinence is not such a bad
thing after all. Who needs booze, or even poxy ginger beer? It might as well be a balmy midsummer evening, because I’m all
warm inside. And I know that musically, there is nowhere in the world that I'd rather have been for the past few
hours. I’m happy just to have been a part of it. Huge props to Bembe Segue and the band (we want more!), and to the Jazz
Café for putting on the show. Can’t forget to mention the man IG Culture for his hand in the production of a lot of these
tunes...big up!
RELATED LINKS
Jazz Cafe
Goya Music - for loads of Bugz-related info.
RECOMMENDED BEMBE RELEASES (links to Amazon.co.uk)
The Good Good Volume 2 (2000 Black) - "To Tomorrow"
Family Planning Volume 1 (People) - "Amazing" Buy
Phuturistic Dancing Volume 1 (Goya) – "The Mind"
Misturada Volume 4 (Far Out) – "Cravo e Canela" Buy
PUBLISHED: Monday 17 March 2003
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::: RELATED LINKS
Jazz Cafe
Goya Music
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