One of the breakout artists of the 2010s, Emeli Sandé struck a chord with her vulnerable songwriting, soulful voice, and pop hooks. Headlining the EFG London Jazz Festival with a show at the Royal Festival Hall, Sandé was entirely pared back, performing all her songs at the piano without a single band member or backing vocalist in support. This night of piano ballads proved stunningly effective, with Sandé’s vocals perhaps the strongest they have ever sounded live. Her 2012 hit ‘Next to Me’ was the only tune that failed to compel in the band’s absence, losing its gospel heft and buoyancy. But she was tightly connected to her lyrics, her voice flicking between airy delicacy and thunderous power, particularly as she delivered the climax of her seminal ‘Read All About It, Pt.III’. Elsewhere, Sandé evoked mid-2010s nostalgia with a solo ‘Beneath Your Beautiful’ (originally recorded with Labrinth), delivered ‘Hurts’ (from 2016’s Long Live the Angels) with wonderful bursts of a cappella, and skilfully paced her way through ‘My Kind of Love’, eventually belting the final choruses. The new material from upcoming album How Were We To Know also smacked of promise.