Soulive
Oh So Soulive
JazzWorld Stage - Friday
Delays for anyone getting on site at Glastonbury can make reaching your destiny both testing and tiring, but it’s twice as bad when you’re a performer, and unfortunately for Boston funksters Soulive essential gear not turning up and a delayed sound check mean they hit the stage looking a little under prepared but desperate to kick some ass. It seems incredible that the Hammond organ trio is still very much alive and kicking, decades after the likes of Jimmy Smith first found the chugging bass pedals and rippling chords of the Lesley cabinet could change the face of the traditional jazz lineup. With emphasis on the ‘live’, Soulive find themselves at the perfect point in the rejuvenation of the Stateside jam-band culture, and a new peak in crossover jazz reaching bigger and bigger audiences worldwide.
Formed by brothers Alan and Neal Evans on drums and Hammond B3 respectively, their mission is to hit the groove hard and heavy, with guitarist Eric Kanso adding that vital funk piece to the Soulive jigsaw puzzle. Putting all this together and making some of the funkiest Hammond jazz-funk on the planet, today no exception, the Glastonbury crowd ready for some sultry early evening entertainment. With the addition of fourth member, vocalist Reggie Watts, this was the perfect sound for hot afternoon. Due to the delay in getting onstage, also perhaps due to their relatively low UK profile, the crowd had thinned come show time.
However, true to Glasto-quality (the jazz stage this year is kicking), those who stick around get a funk injection like nowhere else on site. Making a sound as big as they wonderfully large Afros, the Evans brothers create a soul sound-system of epic proportions, Neal Evans’ keyboard bass hitting you square in the chest. Guitarist Eric Kanso blew hot throughout the shortened set, laying down some blistering lead lines after having grooved like a mother under Watts’ stunning vocals. Striding through some heavy funk, out-and-out soul and blues, this is a band with a real live power, crushing rival outfits with a powerful swinging feel that wasn’t lost on those who needed their collective fix of funk.
Mike Flynn
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