The Soul Jazz Orchestra

What a night. As far as debuts go, The Soul Jazz Orchestra's first foray onto Irish shores can only be described as a total success. Choice Cuts have brought some fantastic soul and hip-hop acts to our undeserving ears over the past 18 months. There have been outstanding performances from the likes of Q-Tip, The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Breakestra, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Marva Whitney with Osaka Monorail, and The Hot 8 Brass Band to name but a few off the top of my funk-filled noggin. TSO joined this impressive list with nearly two hours of hard hitting Afro-beat, Latin-tinged funk and soulful grooves. They arrived at the Sugar Club to an anticipative and buoyant crowd, who had been warmed sufficiently by the fantastic JB's-esque supporting act, The Candidates.

People who came to dance were not disappointed. TSO kicked off with an upbeat cover of the great Pharaoh Sanders' 'Rejoice', followed by two originals, 'Mango Soul Funky' and 'Kapital'. The style of the band is to get in a groove, often accompanied by a mantra, which is chanted repeatedly with almost hypnotically spiritual reverence, over calypso and African rhythms backed up by congas and various percussive instruments. 'People People' from their latest offering, the critically acclaimed 'Manifesto', was a perfect example. Another such groove was 'Use it 'fore you lose it', backed by a Puerto Rican beat and supplemented with rhythmic handclaps. A dollar bill was symbolically ripped up during one song, before the band brought it home with the politically charged 'Mista President' and 'Freedom No Go Die' from the eponymous second album. By the end of the gig, the lucky concert goers were hanging on every note. There was also time for some spontaneous break dancing from 'Raw Edge Crew', doing their thing to the music.

The band is made up of six Canadians, three of which are French speaking, and all of whom sing. Pierre Chrétien seems to be the creative driving force, playing both clavier and electric piano simultaneously. As a testament to his talent, it wasn't until the third song that I noticed the absence of any guitarist or bass player, Chrétien providing both sounds with his twin keyboard skills. He also found time to nod to a certain J. Hendrix with a few bars of 'Star Spangled Banner'. The three saxophones provided the entertainment onstage, with ever-present gorgeous brass harmony. They engaged with the audience throughout. The alluring female vocalist Marielle Rivard showed off her range during the more melodic tunes. But TSO were at their best when drummer Philippe Lafreniére used his mic, singing with a distinctly powerful and raw African flavour, the rest of the band participating in a call and answer routine.

Upon meeting them afterwards, Ragged Words found TSO to be impressively modest, considering the fact that they have shared a stage with Etta James, Fela Kuti, and other such luminaries and musical heroes. Not to mention the packed dance floor and scenes of jubilation moment's earlier. They also expressed an enthusiastic desire to come back as soon as possible. This writer for one is keeping his fingers firmly crossed.