Review: London-based jazz and Afrobeat collective KOKOROKO at Bristol's Trinity Centre

The eight-piece showed that the hype around them is justified

It would be fair to say jazz has enjoyed a fairly hefty resurgence in recent years, with a host of top acts pushing the sound forward and picking up the ears of younger listeners.

Some of those responsible for the genre’s upward trajectory include Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia and Bristol’s own Ishmael Ensemble, all of whom are trendy twenty-somethings born at a time when the scene looked entirely different.

Another act very much at the forefront of the charge is KOKOROKO, the London-based eight-piece who announced themselves in spectacular style last year with the release of their self-titled EP, released on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings label.

It may only be four tracks in length but each number is simply exquisite. Its showpiece is the spellbinding Abusey Junction, a faultless piece of music which has deservedly attracted 35 million plays on YouTube in two years.

As such, demand to see them live at the Trinity Centre on Wednesday night was high, and the gig sold out well in advance.

With the venue packed to the rafters but not overcrowded, they kick off with Uman which sets the tone for the rest of the night, creating an infectious party atmosphere which transports you to Glastonbury’s West Holts Stage on a hazy June afternoon.

Each member of the collective takes it in turns to show off their musicianship, unleashing solos of jaw-dropping quality. As you’d expect from such a highly-rated outfit they are tight, too, all on the same wavelength.

Not only do they sound fantastic but they’re a mesmerising watch as well, with the brass-playing trio who take centre stage pulling off some cracking dance moves, which in turn loosens up the multi-generational crowd before them.

They traverse between jazz and Afrobeat throughout, but some of the set’s standout moments come when they take things down a notch or two to create soft, melodic compositions that make you feel like you’re melting on the spot - or perhaps that's just down to the lack of air con in the Trinity Centre.

After departing the stage they come back on for a stupendously good rendition of the aforementioned Abusey Junction, which sounds every bit as good as it does on record, if not better.

There has been a hefty amount of hype around this eight-piece and with performances like this, it’s easy to see why.