The Shez Raja Collective
What do you call a conglomerate comprising an electric bassist with a propensity for playing jazz-funk, a hard bop sax player, a fusion guitarist in the Alan Holdsworth style, a female vocalist singing in Punjabi, a keyboard player with a liking for electro funk and a lady behind the drum kit? Well this diverse bunch is of course the Shez Raja Collective. Most recently I caught them at The Spice of Life, Soho where they were playing a sold out concert as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival.
Tony Kofi
The band performed a lot of material from Shez’s latest album, Tales from the Punjab, which is a very pronounced nod to his Indian heritage and inspired by a trip there a few years ago. There were also popular songs from other albums including the gloriously funky opener, “Quiverwish” the raga rock-like “Shambhala” (anybody remember Quintessence?) and the frenetic “Get Cosmic”.
Japjit Kaur
Overall a wonderfully heady eclectic mix of styles, genres and musical influences. The ever reliable Tony Kofi on sax provided trenchant leading melodies as well as searing solos that at times were quite reminiscent of Wayne Shorter. Japjit Kaur fronted the band on vocals. She sang in Punjabi and added a lovely world music flavour to the gig.
John Etheridge
I was excited to see John Etheridge. Despite my many years of following jazz fusion, the Soft Machine extended family have mostly eluded me. I don’t know why. Anyway John didn’t disappoint. His playing style immediately complimented the band’s rock proclivities and his joyous duets with Shez were just marvelous.
Kieron Garrett
Kieron Garrett fleshed out the band’s sound with some meaty keyboard playing and Sophie Alloway held the groove together with flawless and nuanced drumming.
Sophie Alloway
This concert was a tremendously enjoyable event. The band’s virtuosity was always evident and served as a reminder of the breadth, depth and character of British jazz. But more than that, Shez’s highly energetic playing combined with his witty and adept verbal communications added an extraordinary element of fun to the evening.
John Morrow
