English phenomenon Jacob Collier may be the most
immensely talented musician I have ever seen live. As hyperbolic as that may
sound, the proof was in the first of his two performances at Anthology on
Friday.
The first thing I noticed about the live performance of the London-based
multi-instrumentalist was his irrepressible energy. The 22-year-old literally
jumped from keyboards to upright bass to drum set and back again, ingeniously
utilizing looping techniques: the least gimmicky, most legitimate one-man band
there could be.
Collier opened the set with two exquisite covers — Stevie
Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry
’bout a Thing” and “Close
To You” by Burt Bacharach — establishing his soul and funk credentials
early on. He then settled into one of his more popular original tunes, “Hideaway,” which
stripped away his typically virtuosic, if grandiose, instrumentation in favor
of subtle fingerpicking on an acoustic guitar and the kind of sexy vocal
acrobatics one heard from the late, legendary Jeff Buckley. Collier’s reedy yet
sensual baritone frequently leapt into a gorgeous, crystalline falsetto.
I also got the sense that this young prodigy could have
excelled in virtually every conceivable genre. As they are, his compositions
sound rather like the work of a jazzy Brian Wilson (indeed, Collier has an
excellent version of The Beach Boys’ “In My Room” in his repertoire).
But ultimately, it’s clear that Collier is most interested in
being himself, even when interpreting songs like George Gershwin’s “Fascinating
Rhythm,” with which he closed the show. The Collier cover was sped up, highly
kinetic, and infused with beat boxing that sounded entirely organic to the
piece.
If you didn’t get a chance to hear Jacob Collier, you should
stop whatever it is you’re doing right now and listen to his music. Seriously.
I wouldn’t at all be surprised if his performance turns out to be the highlight of the entire festival.
Jacob Collier won’t
perform again during this year’s XRIJF. Check him out at jacobcollier.co.uk.
After Collier’s spellbinding set, I made my way over to
Christ Church, where a very different English jazz musician was performing.
Pianist Gwilym Simcock played music that has a similarly undeniable groove, but here, there was
something deeply and intangibly bluesy at work. Simcock
dug into dense but accessible chords, laying beautifully vertiginous melodic
lines on top of the rich harmonic framework.
An incredibly fluid piano player, Simcock
immersed the listener in delectable phrases that seemed to have no beginning or
end. As a composer, he was overflowing with ideas, and melodies bubbled over
without ceasing. His music was easy to listen to without being simplistic. The
result was jazz that was somehow both introspective and effervescent, which
made for a highly enjoyable listening experience, especially amidst the
acoustics of Christ Church.
Gwilym Simcock won’t be
playing again during this year’s XRIJF. gwilymsimcock.com.
If the first day of this year’s Xerox Rochester International
Jazz Festival was any indication, there are plenty of awe-inspiring
performances to come.
This article appears in Jun 21-27, 2017.
