overview

After last year's lovely sunshine, I was dissapointed to find a rainy start to this year's Jazz Cafe Picnic at Marble Hill, Twickenham. Still the weather did not deter the picnickers who turned out well prepared with champagne, strawberries, umbrellas, plastic-backed picnic blankets and fold out chairs. The age range was very wide at this festival day out and it was not unusual to see three generations of families sat together, with many small children running around the site too.

We arrived just in time to catch the very tail end of Snowboy & The Latin Section's raucous afro-cuban jazz set. Percussionist Snowboy has been a major figure in the British and European Latin Jazz scene for over 15 years with his band, The Latin Section and (according to their website) this band are "literally comprised of a 'Dream Team' of the finest Jazz and Latin musicians based in the U.K." and today it certainly seemed that way, even with the band performing a man down, with their bassist stuck in the midst of the terrorist furore at Luton airport. This instrumental band had loads of energy and a determined few were dancing to their beat in spite of the rain even at that early stage in the day.

Next on stage were Koop, the Gilles Peterson favoured cross-dressing Swedes, Magnus Zingmark and Oscar Simonsson and their excellent band for some Jazz of a more traditional bent. The duo make jazz sparingly laced with electronics and in todays live setting the electronic element was even more down-played as the band reeled off a set more towards the Trad end of the Jazz spectrum. Singer Yukimi Nagano was in fine voice while the band behind her, complete with double bass, trombone, xylophone, keyboards, decks and effects, swung the audience into the mid-afternoon as the rainy showers finally stopped for a bit.

Foreign Beggars followed Koop onto the Jazz Cafe stage next, stepping in for Breakestra who had to pull out of the show at the last minute. A 5-man crew comprised of MCs Orifice Vulgatron and Metropolis, Dj NoNames, Beat Boxer Shlomo and Producer Dag Nabbit, the band's mixed backgrounds stem from Dubai, India, Kentucky, Ghana, Norway, Israel and Iraq, and the group found fame after the release of their last single, 'Hold On' which was played extensively on Radio 1. Their politically conscious and funky hiphop, taking in everything from the South African AIDS crisis to the war in Iraq, was well-received by the crowd, even though they ended with yet another rehash of Rage Against The Machine's Killing In The Name Of. Seriously danceheads, this is getting old and particularly now that every dance dj and his dog has chucked it into their beats-based set. Get some new ideas!

Nouvelle Vague were next to tread the boards. The acoustic bossa nova band from France rewrite 80s post-punk favourites to suit their more loungey, latin style. Showcasing tracks from their new album, Bande A Part, Nouvelle Vague (which translates to "new wave" in English, and bossa nova in Portuguese) revisit some of producers Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux's favourite tracks from the early 80s by bands like Echo & The Bunnymen, Blondie and Joy Division in a winning combination of bossa nova, jazz and 60s pop. Accompanied today by singers Gerald Toto, Melanie Pain and Phoebe Killdeer, the band gaily trot through new album tracks like Don't Go, Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't Have) and Blue Monday to great applause from the appreciative audience.

Just before Femi Kuti and The Positive Force are due to take to the stage, the Jazz Cafe's excellent compere Normski informs us that Femi Kuti, son of legendary Afrobeat musician Fela Kuti and saxophonist and bandleader in his own right, has been rushed to hospital with a mystery illness and will not be able to perform today. After Breakestra's earlier no-show this could have proved a fatal blow to the event, but Positive Force carry on without their band leader to great effect. The 13-member band blend sinuous percussion-based grooves layered with modern, soul and jazz-influenced melodies while the scantily-clad, booty shaking singers danced themselves and the watching crowd into a frenzy. The Positive Force are clearly a force to be reckoned with, with or without their lead man.

Zero 7 are tonight's Jazz Cafe Picnic headliners and clearly the act that most here have been itching to see. Taking to the stage with Aussie soul singer Sia, the band pick up where Positive Force left off in getting the lazy Jazz Cafe Picnic crowd up on their feet. The band begin with a barrage of newer material from their most recent album The Garden which is far more upbeat than I had expected. Sia gives a belting vocal performance of This Fine Social Scene before Jose Gonzalez joins the band for a few of his contributions to the record including Today and Futures. Returning to their older material, Sia stepped back up to sing Distractions and Destiny to rapturous applause from the audience.

All in all Jazz Cafe Picnic is a lovely day out with some interesting and mellow music from around the globe. The toilets are clean and plentiful, you can take your own food and booze (although they have plenty of food and drink outlets onsite to offer you if you forget) and the people are friendly. Pack a bottle or two, a picnic, good mates and an umbrella as sunshine is not guarenteed.

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