The United Nations of Incognito arrived in South London to play an acoustic set and left with the noise of a sell-out Hideaway audience ringing in their ears.
My wife and I first saw Incognito play in 2009 at their 30th anniversary concert, we have been fans ever since. Members of the group change almost every time we see them but the quality of the music is always high and the band’s founder Bluey is an ever present.
This performance was excellent, funky jazz at its best. The show started and finished with their most famous song ‘Always There’, the first version was slower than the original. In between they played an array of numbers some penned by Bluey, others by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Roy Ayres and Christopher Cross.
I usually prefer vocal numbers to instrumentals but last night the instrumentals were outstanding. Unfortunately I do not remember all the names of the 12 strong ensemble but they were all excellent. There was a great solo by keyboard player Matt Cooper and an amazing lengthy drum box interlude performed by Joao Caetano and Francesco Mendolia, I feared for their hands when they had finished. I suspect that there was quite a lot of improvisation on the instrumental numbers but it sounded fantastic. Francisco Sales and Bluey played acoustic guitars with Francis Hylton on bass. There was a three man brass section and three vocalists.
I particularly enjoyed hearing Joy Rose sing again, I had not seen her since April last year, she has a smile that could light up the darkest room and a voice that has a rich tone.
The acoustic set worked well and Bluey’s chat on topics such as the migration of sparrows, live music and Brexit was entertaining. As always Bluey implored us all to continue to support live music, something that we have been doing successfully this year as this was our 93rd gig of the year.
Playing acoustically or electrified Incognito are a must see for any lover of jazz funk.
Johns London Music Reviews 