Pairing Guy Barker and his fabulous orchestra with an impressive array of vocal talent led (unsurprisingly) to some fine results last night at the Royal Festival Hall. The Jazz Voice Gala, kicking off the first night of the EFG London Jazz Festival, has form for attracting top-tier talent, with luminaries such as Mica Paris, Paloma Faith, and Lea DeLaria having previously appeared.

This year was no different, with the line-up in fact skewed towards several young, budding, and surging artists. The format – each artist taking to the stage in turn – does mean that Jazz Voice tends to lack narrative thrust and thematic cohesion. Even with tributes to Nat King Cole in the first act, and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club and Stevie Wonder in the second, the gala was more a disparate selection of performances – albeit very good ones. Given the focus on sensational voices – which the gala delivered with aplomb – one can excuse some clunky transitions. Host Jumoke Fashola did well to steer the event, offering insights and context before each performance. 

A buzzy artist within international jazz, Judi Jackson began the evening with a big band rendition of Nirvana’s dingy ‘Come As You Are’, bringing her own brand of enigma to the contradictory lyrics. Jalen N’Gonda, an American singer-songwriter now based in Liverpool, struck as a Motown transplant straight from the 1960s. Performing his original ‘Angel Doll’ and Al Green’s ‘Take Me To The River’, N’Gonda showcased his buttery falsetto vocals redolent of The Temptations’ Eddie Kendricks. He opened up his vocal at the climax of ‘Angel Doll’, matched by Barker’s soaring horn section.

Cherise Adams-Burnett proved why she was crowned Jazz FM’s Vocalist of the Year 2019 with a rambunctious tribute to Nat King Cole. Her second set number, the yet to be released ‘Violet Nights’, was high drama melancholy. Exhibiting her emotional range, Adams-Burnett chose her two songs wisely. Raul Midón, the Grammy-nominated Latin jazz artist, brought his folksy guitar to Barker’s lush orchestration on two of his originals. His ‘If You Really Want’, a rejection of his naysayers, was anthemic.

Headlining her own concert at the Royal Festival Hall in the next week, Corinne Bailey Rae was in good voice. Yet her dainty, dreamy tones felt overpowered by the orchestra. Her rendition of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Knocks Me Off My Feet’ in the second set mobilised the full orchestra as well as backing vocalists, where a stripped down, more intimate arrangement would have served better.

This was the approach of Grammy-winning artist Cécile McLorin Salvant, who drew upon the orchestra as well as pianist Sullivan Fortner with telling judgement. Her first song of the evening – Stevie Wonder’s ‘Visions’ from his seminal Innervisions album – was helmed with a questioning, almost philosophical gravitas. Her second number, Harry Warren and Mack Gordon’s ‘If You Feel Like Singing, Sing’ was punctuated with warmth and humour. Singing with the most polish out of the Jazz Voice line-up, her diction was sharp as a knife, flitting into head voice effortlessly.

The revelation of the evening was Urban Flames, spawned by the musical education initiatives of the charity Urban Development. The 22 strong musical collective (with ages spanning 15-20) is full of preternatural talent. They gave vocally-rich, layered performances of Ray Blk’s ‘My Hood’ (an ode to South London), and Yebba’s ‘My Mind’. The dark, pained lyric of heartbreak and mental health in the latter was dealt with stellar passion and maturity.

And of course, the virtuosity of pianist Matthew Whitaker, the ‘Amateur Night at the Apollo’ champion whose self-penned ‘Emotions’ – a thrilling composition originally written for a school concert – elicited some of the evening’s most effusive applause. It is difficult to ignore a genius at work.

Yet the finale – the one chance to wrap the evening up with some semblance of cohesion – felt curiously lacklustre. Certainly, Whitaker was stunning on Stevie Wonder’s ‘I Wish, and N’Gonda led confidently on ‘Living For The City’. However the rest of the line-up looked somewhat lost on stage. A missed opportunity to close what was otherwise an eclectic and exciting Jazz Voice.