MMNLS2E9.Nubya Garcia @Star Theatre, Portland, April 2025
Love, jazz and trip hop.
Spring has begun to explode across Portland, and I got to hang out at the Star Theater to see Nubya Garcia from the UK. A saxophonist at the top of their game with some killer releases last year on Concord Jazz
The album featured her touring band members: Joe Armon-Jones (keys), Daniel Casimir (bass), and Sam Jones (drums). Notable guest artists included Portland’s own Esperanza Spalding, Georgia Anne Muldrow, and strings from Chineke! Orchestra.
Where Source, the previous album was sunlit and grounded in London’s mix of sound system culture, soul, and spiritual jazz, Odyssey steps into an unknown space. It’s deeper, stormier, and less interested in easy vibes. This is jazz as ritual, tangled, raw, and fully alive.
Sam Jones’ drums feel like broken beat with an edge, Joe Armon-Jones’ piano stabs feel like arguments with the drummer, and Garcia’s tenor sax cuts through like a voice. Even the quieter moments shimmer with tension—“We Walk in Gold” sounds like a whispered prophecy.
The record dips into dub, brushes against hip-hop, and nods to orchestral sounds. It’s never about just styling, its about the spirit of these things. Nubya’s sax serves as a compass in this dense, shifting album. She doesn’t just play it. She somehow channels a bigger search in her playing.
Nubya Garcia’s performance seamlessly wove together elements of jazz, classical, dub, and R&B.
Garcia’s played as much of her album as she could. Tracks like “Dawn” and “The Seer” showcased her ability to blend the orchestral arrangements with a funky, intimate small band sound. The live renditions brought a new depth to these songs, highlighting Garcia’s as both a performer and a composer.
The support was from an artist I had not heard of before - Magi Merlin, from Montreal - Something something FKA, something Charlie XCX, but triphop through the lens of a much younger brain.
Peace, more soon.
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