The revolution may not be televised, but it might be played and sung to you with a smooth flair courtesy of Aki Remally, Fraser Urquhart and co. Head bobbing and swaying are inevitabilities if you make your way to this one. Gil Scott-Heron, firebrand jazz poet and singer is towering figure on the histories of jazz, soul and hip-hop, but these cats provide a masterful tribute. Scott-Heron’s bluesy, gutsy vocals are impossible to replicate, but Remally provides a surprisingly effective imitation, and his vocals can transport you back to the 1970s New York City, sipping on highballs, gazing through a smoky bar at a revolutionary jazz musician.
Get your groove going with some punchier cuts or reflect with the pensive “Pieces of a Man;” they draw from all over Scott-Heron’s storied career. Remally’s masterful guitar, Urquhart’s expressive piano and keyboard, Max Popp’s delicate drums and Tom Wilkinson’s powerful bass hang in the air and travel throughout your limbs as you’re left entranced by the virtuoso brilliance of a quartet at the top of their game. They’re not here to give you a history lesson, either so if you want to learn about the man, you’ll have to look it up, they just want to play the songs.
If you’re not familiar with Gil Scott-Heron, this may just seem like another jazz set, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to be gained; The Gil Scott-Heron Songbook serves as an excellent live introduction to one of Jazz’s foremost figures, and is seriously impressive.
The Gil Scott-Heron Songbook, 20.30, The Jazz Bar, until August 14
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/gil-scott-heron-songbook
