Out and About With….Blonde Jesi

Gig Review

The Sunflower Lounge

5th February 2022

I’m back again with another live music review from the thriving music scene here in Birmingham, West Midlands. This time I ventured out to an evening of Jazz and Soul courtesy of The Future Sound Project. What was nice about this evenings gig was that apart from the wonderful Charlotte Champian I had not come across the other acts on the line up and was excited to discover some new bands the old fashioned way, in a live setting, in a great atmosphere…..I was not disappointed.

Opening the nights proceedings was the brilliant singer/songwriter Charlotte Champian. Once again she was armed with only her keyboard and the talented rhythm wizard Isaac Vivian on the Cajon and egg shaker, she once again cast her spell across the room. From her opening notes Charlotte’s gentle jazz and soul infused songs washed outwards, dropping itself gently over the audience. Her voice was gentle but firm and captured your attention against the subtle keyboard progression and hypnotic beat.

As the set moved forwards her confidence shone through in her music and you could tell she was pouring everything she had into each word and note. Though a lot of her tracks on the album carry a lot of musical backing there is always something special about watching her perform the tracks in their rawest form. Isaac also leant a layer of feeling to the tracks by using the Cajon to compliment the keyboard, rather than overwhelm it. He even adds some well timed egg shakes that allowed Charlotte and her lyrics to stand out in all the right places. However, like most good sets she ended strong and in my opinion left a positive atmosphere behind her as she exited the stage to much applause.

Break time over I took up my new position amongst the crowd and prepared for a band bringing something different to the nights proceedings.

Luna Portum took to the stage and as soon as the break playlist faded out hit the room hard with their blend of post-punk, rock ’n’ roll. Now I know I started this review by saying it was a night of Jazz & Soul, well it may have been a tad misleading. My bad. Either way though Luna owned the stage and whipped the crowd up with an electrifying performance. With aggressive riffs and hard, punching drums the band drove straight through the audience, sweeping them up in the wake of every song.

Between each song the band pulsed with confidence and an attitude worthy of their crunchy, gritty sound. It was made even more notable with the contrast of Charlotte’s performance preceding theirs. A moment that stood out for me in the set however was when the two guitarists broke out a seamless twin lead break worthy of Thin Lizzy. In this single moment the crowd cheered and got pulled in by the audible magic of the moment (full disclosure, I love a good twin lead and am very gutted it isn’t used more often in music nowadays). By the time the band wrapped up their final track the audience was buzzing and eager to hear more from the next act to take to the stage.

The Creber Collective struck up with a stunning jazz inspired instrumental to much applause and cheering from the now swelling crowd. By this time in the evening I’d slowly been edged backwards towards the engineers booth as more of the audience moved forwards to fully embrace the band giving it their all on stage. With each musical piece they would whip up a musical storm and release it into the eager crowd. From the sweeping keyboards to the off beat drumming and cutting brass the whole band worked as one to paint vivid moments with their instruments. It was at this point I vowed to try and see more Jazz music in the future.

One draw back to the set was no fault of the band but to a small Knott of people beside me who decided to have a rather loud conversation about a house party during one of the bands more mellow songs. Luckly the song was strong enough that the piano and brass duet did reach me like all good music can. It received a huge reception as the final notes faded and the band dove into their next track with practiced ease, keeping up the electrifying atmosphere that had built up in the room. Eventually the band announced their final song to much groaning and calls for more from the audience. Ending in style they exited to a huge round of applause and even louder calls for more. However it was time to make way for the headliner of the night….

By now the atmosphere and anticipation was bulging in the basement venue as Blonde Jesi got themselves prepared to end the night in style. Before they kicked off though I made sure to move as a nearby discussion was now covering the premise of ‘Snake Jazz’ (see the mind bending Rick ’n’ Morty for examples). Settled away from that I was able to fully embrace myself in the music washing out from the stage.

Much like The Creber Collective before them, Blonde Jesi were a fully fledged Jazz and Soul inspired ensemble. Each one of them weirded their instrument as though it was an extension of their being. Each note was clear and precise. Each instrument and its player having their own moment to shine and weave between its companions. For a few of the songs the band brought keyboardist Molly Bethan and Saxophonist Monty Charles to the forefront to enchant the audience with their vocals. In fact while Molly was performing a cover of a Georgia Smith song, the title of which escapes me. Bad reviewer. I over heard a member of the audience exclaim with as much passion as though he had won the lottery….

“She hit the note, she hit, the fuckin’ note.”

Not only did this little overheard quote make me smile but it summed up the entire night for me in a frank and honest way. I’d gone to experience a great night of live music in a genre I’d never really sought out before and I saw four brilliant acts that made me proud to be a part of the Birmingham scene. So as Blonde Jesi wrapped up their set with a gem of an original instrumental song the room exploded with applause and calls for more, more, more.

You’ve just got to love a great night of live music.

Follow the artists!

Charlotte Champian Luna Portum The Creber Collective Blonde Jesi