Returning to your hometown to perform for the first time since your teenage years can be a daunting experience, non-more so than for former CNS student turned jazz guitarist extraordinaire Oscar Jerome.
The 28-year-old confessed in the build-up to his performance at Voodoo Daddy's pizza lounge he was feeling pre-show nerves, despite having supported the likes of Kamasi Washington and having showcased his acclaimed live show on specialist music broadcasts such as Boiler Room and playing events in London hotspots Jazz Cafe, Worldwide Awards Afterparty and Clore Ballroom to name a few.
Technical glitches at the beginning of the show could have added to any lingering apprehension, but once the show did take lift off, any reservations were dampened as Oscar's homecoming performance had the 100 or so gathered within the intimate venue on Timberhill bouncing to a Jazz inspired, new soul celebration.
Having grown up in the Golden Triangle, Oscar Jerome's ties with music has always been close-knit, having performed in bands since he was 14.
The now London based artist, having moved down to the capital at the age of 18, cites music greats John Coltrane, Gill Scott-Heron and Otis Redding as influences from an early age, and you can feel in his set a sound song structure which can often get lost within jazz.
Also apparent within the performance was his passion for the music, sensing total immersion within a number of his improvised, hypnotic jazz guitar solos.
Oscar has done collaborations with Kokoroko and performed on music legend Gilles Petersen's Lot Radio output, and the Norwich star's solo career took a significant step forward having been signed up by Caroline International who have worked with Iggy Pop and Kate Tempest in recent times.
Later in the performance, the artist played music track Gravitate, released in the spring of 2019, delivered on the night with an effortless nature, despite its complex chords intertwined with sooth sounding vocals as a rousing display was savoured by the crowd gathered.
Next on the tour is a date in Birmingham, and with a tour of Australia in the offing, the performer's stock is only going to rise, as a local boy's progression from battle of the bands to harmonising with the heavyweights now takes on a more regular frequency.
- For more Norwich music check out our dedicated page every Thursday in the Eastern Daily Press and Norwich Evening News or follow Enjoy Music More on Facebook and Twitter
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