Tonight, I am at Newcastle’s Cobalt Studios, for their weekly Fresh Thursdays event, which is this evening the wonderful Matters Unknown. Fresh Thursdays is an incentive run by the amazing Cobalt team, to provide fresh new music served alongside a delicious home-cooked meal – this week, a veggie curry. The food is fresh and fantastic, and the music about to be enjoyed even more so.
Supporting Matters Unknown is local jazz group Wingbeats. Unassumingly, this quintet step on stage – and they are ferociously good. It’s captivating jazz: the type that grabs you by the ankles, lifts you into the air, hurls you around for a few minutes, before setting you back down in your seat, to be repeated countless times over their 30-minute set. A brilliantly crafted flow of music demonstrates the group’s chemistry, musical talent, and exciting discography.
Matters Unknown is the solo project from Jonathan Enser – composer and multi-instrumentalist best known for his contributions to the jazz outfit Nubiyan Twist. I’ve been a huge admirer of Nubiyan Twist’s work for a long time, so am very excited to see one of their own in a solo setting, particularly in an atmosphere as warm and intimate as the one duly provided by Cobalt, on an otherwise miserable North-East January night.
Accompanying Enser on stage are two of his long-time collaborators, who both have contributed to his recently released EP, Silhouettes: A Dream Sphere Journal. Matthew Davies with the drumsticks, and Lyle Barton on snyth/keys, provide Enser a more than fitting partnership to demonstrate his music in all its richness. Enser himself has an eclectic array of instruments (some traditional, some not so much) in front of him. The first noise of his set comes courtesy of a sea shell – unconvential, yes, but it certainly hooked the crowd and set the tone for this demonstration of contemporary jazz.
As we move through the set, we hear renditions of three of the new EP’s finest tracks, I Am the Birds, Race Against the Sun, and What Are You About. A feature shared by this trio of tracks is their esteemed contributors. Onipa is an afro-jazz band, led by Tom Excell (also bandleader for Nubiyan Twist) and K.O.G., who feature to create I Am the Birds: a spiritual song reflecting on healing and Enser’s experiences with his physical and mental health. Cuban artist Flavio Correa features for Race Against the Sun, another powerful and reflective piece, and Neone the Wonderer in What Are You About, also highlighting Enser’s impressive vocals.
Enser’s struggles with disability play a pivotal role in his music, and it’s his deep spiritual perspective and unwavering openness about his experiences which create such powerful music. You can really feel the deep connections held within, despite only two of the EP’s many contributors being actually present on stage. However, other elements are not amiss. Through Barton’s effective use of synths, Davies’s incorporation of a midi drum pad, and Enser’s midi sampler (alongside his vocals, trumpet, and tuba playing), the trio create a wonderful amalgamation of the sounds and noises you hear on the studio recordings, from funky bass lines to afro-inspired percussion, and brass flair to vocal harmonies. Take Blindspot, for example, where Davies hugely impresses with his drumming prowess, backed up by his use of midi pads to provide the complex layers of percussion heard on the studio version of this song.
The overall result is a rich, spiritualistic journey through Enser’s lived experiences, which connects powerfully and impacts deeply. He discusses his relationship with nature and healing, and his deep admiration, comfort and connections found through elements such as birds, rivers and green spaces. All in all, Matters Unknown’s music is a fantastic combination of contemporary jazz, afrobeat, rap, and soul, yet an experience which also runs deeper than just the sounds you hear.
Waxing Lyrical 