Kassa Overall: Live at Lower Third

November’s live music started strong with both Cambridge and London promising Jazz Festivals and a little preliminary excitement from Kassa Overall and a scaled-back band under historic Denmark Street.

The Lower Third sits deep below Denmark Street, formerly known as Tin Pan Alley, in London’s Soho and famous for housing music publishers, record shops and recording studios. There’s little evidence now of its historic past, but I stepped inside a cool bar and headed down to the basement at The Lower Third.

Luckily, I followed advice I’ve given others many times and arrived in time for the support act. On stage was singer-songwriter India Blue and her guitar, with lots of poetic lyrics and an engaging explanation of her songs. She warmed the audience up nicely and made us all feel welcome in that intimate space.

Once Kassa Overall joined the stage, it was clear he had scaled down the band behind his new album - C.R.E.A.M. Alongside his drums were Bendji Allonce (percussion), Giulio Xavier Cetto (bass) and Emilio Modeste (tenor sax). Absolutely perfect sound from the whole team on stage and in production at the Lower Third.

With just one lead instrument, Emilio Modeste’s tenor sax did most of the melodic heavy lifting, until he was joined by American sax player Lauren Fink, now based in London.

C.R.E.A.M. is Overall’s fourth solo studio album and several of the tunes performed were from that, but others from his previous releases. There were stand-out songs on the night, like Overall’s arrangement of Eddie Harris’s Freedom Jazz Dance that worked brilliantly with Bendji Allonce’s brilliant percussion.

Another outstanding chart is Nuthin but a ‘G’ Thang. These guys really grooved through that.

But, above all, Kassa Overall is a drummer and his dexterity behind the skins is breath-taking. He was amazing at Love Supreme in July and even better with a smaller band in a more intimate, subterranean venue in central London.