Still sporting his Jazzie B haircut, acid jazz pioneer Omar is back playing an entire week of sold out shows in the intimate surroundings of the Jazz Cafe.
Despite early acclaim, the Harlesden-bred Jazzmatician has failed to make it as big as Jamiroquai or the Brand New Heavies who, some would say, got their breaks following the success of his ground-breaking sounds. But his undoubted talent is still as sharp as ever.
With a solid core of jazz players on stage, Omar slides out a sound somewhere between Miles Davis and Barry White, crossing jazz for the connoisseur with soul for the masses. It's just as well that Barry White isn't here tonight, because with Omar's formidable eleven man backline the walrus of love would severely congest the cramped stage.
Omar mixes an eclectic range of sounds, from roots to Motown around a mellow, soulful vibe. Honky-tonk keyboards, smooth double bass and jazz guitar, bongos and funky beats, a forceful three man brass section and bluesy vocals combine to fuse a full, soul sound which keeps the capacity crowd shuffling their feet while Omar offers his laidback, seemingly effortless vocals.
The band play with a relaxed air. A couple of bars into 'Be Thankful', one of the tracks off latest album 'Best By Far', and again on the classic 'Nothing Like This' Omar calls proceedings to a halt and gets his band to start again after making unoticeable mistakes.
The set ranges between the slow, smoochy soul of 'Little Boy' and the funky Starsky & Hutchesque groove of 'I Guess', undulating between jazzy blasts and sexy, sensual vocals.
'Nothing Like This' with it's catchier-than-hell bass line and smooth vocals stands out as the crowd sing it back to him, but tracks like 'Syleste' and 'Essensual' hold a similar appeal, following the same mellow vibe.
Returning for an encore, Omar shows off his new trick with a human beat-box number, thumping his chest and pushing out a beat and tune. Omar sounds pretty much like he did ten years ago, but with a full band blasting out his tunes and the man himself waxing lyrically into his mic, he can still create a fresh, funky and downright cool set which still won't begin to sound dated for a few more years yet.
Images: Winnie Chang
