Review: Jazz on Wick Festival 2025

On the day that Central London was imposed upon by a divisive ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally, East London was busy dancing to the unifying and richly-diverse ‘Jazz on Wick’ festival, the first jazz festival of its kind to take place in Hackney Wick.

Bringing together a range of local, national and international artists, from across the spectrum of genres, ‘Jazz on Wick’ was a testament to the power of musical and cultural diversity, and the continuing ability of the British contemporary jazz scene to combine and showcase it.

As a creative hub, Hackney Wick is perfectly placed for bringing in an enthusiastic and varied audience, and can draw upon the dynamic tributaries of music across East London.

Hackney born Dele Sosimi set the pulse of the day with his legendary Afrobeat, turning every head that passed across Hackney Bridge with his group’s infectious grooves and vibrant sound.

As Sosimi jovially reminded the crowd, he has been ‘flying the flag since Jesus was born’, having played an integral part in the music since the 1970s, most notably as a keys player in the bands of Fela Kuti. His presence didn’t just get the people dancing in step, it acted as a reminder of the West African influence on much of the popular British jazz today.

And there was plenty of emerging talent on display. Peruvian powerhouse Allexa Nava proved her
star potential yet again. On the roster of jazz re:freshed, the fertile London label devoted to providing
opportunities for young, underrepresented jazz talent, Nava is making a name for herself with some
dazzling live performances following her EP ‘No Language’.

It is rare these days to see a saxophonist who can dominate the stage with such individual prowess. Here she delivered again with her rapid, dexterous, explosive lines that left her and the audience short of breath, and brought echoes of the great bebop players like Dizzie Gillespie and Charlie Parker.

The festival fended off any possibility of Londoncentrism by involving communities from further afield. The Glasgow-based quartet Azamiah filled the Hackney Bridge Mainstage with their fluid, expansive soundscapes, India Blue delighting with her crisp melodic phrasing and far-reaching vocals.

Forged in the North-East of England, the quintet Knats brought the nascent ‘Geordie jazz’, a type of punky, jazz-rock fusion that incorporates working class narratives and heavy riffs. I’m sure many of the East London crowd were surprised by the raucous energy and cheeky charisma of bassist and leader Stan Woodward, who played with a Newcastle United flag tied around the microphone.

Knats bring a different perspective to the ever-swirling jazz pot, and Woodward’s claim that ‘if there’s one thing we have as British people, it’s rock’ left me with even more excitement for the myriad ways through which jazz can yet grow.

If there was one performance that encapsulated the eclectic spirit of ‘Jazz on Wick’ it was the Orii Jam, an exhibition of the weekly jam sessions borne out of the community of Hackney Wick.

Inspired by Steam Down Weekly in South-East London, Orii Jam forms part of an established network of magnetic grassroots jam sessions, and offers a platform for players from a range of musical backgrounds to collaborate in front of a dedicated audience. Its raw, quasi-religious feel makes it valued by audiences and creatives alike.

Colour Factory was packed to the brim, and the festival might have been better served if the Orii Jam was the finale of the day. It was a textbook jam session. The playing was tight, and centred initially by the immaculate and soulful vocalist Jerome Thomas, as well as the exuberant trumpeter Poppy Daniels, another beneficiary of jazz re:freshed, which itself started as a jazz jam series.

There were few changeovers this time, but there were still the usual Orii innovations. The band moved deftly to dub, to lithe reinventions of garage, to the hook of Outkast’s ‘SpottieOttieDopaliscious’, culminating in a unifying chorus of ‘Everybody Loves the Sunshine’. It was a crowd-pleasing homage to the black genres that have fused with jazz to make it an exciting force once again in the 21st century.

The test for ‘Jazz on Wick’ was to organise a festival that seamlessly combines all of the diverse elements of jazz into a single event, and it certainly passed. The respect for the creative community, the breathable ease with which festivalgoers could move between venues, and the holistic sense in the selection of artists means that it has surely cemented its place on the festival calendar for years to come.