‘VARIOUS ARTISTS’ – ‘LOVE SUPREME’, GLYNDE PLACE, GLYNDE 4.7.26
Europe’s biggest outdoor jazz festival, ‘Love Supreme’, returned to the beautiful Sussex countryside setting of Glynde Place in the heart of South Downs from 3rd to 5th July. The annual three-day festival highlights the best of Jazz, Funk, Soul and Blues from both sides of the Atlantic and beyond.
As there was so much going on, we have split our reviews into three parts – one per day. This article takes care of matters on Saturday 4th July. Part 1 on the acts that performed on Friday 3rd July can be found HERE. Part 3 on the acts that performed on Sunday 5th July will follow over the next few days.
Each day there were six stages on the go, namely North Downs, South Downs, Supreme Standards, Bands & Voices, Blue In Green, and New Generation Jazz. There were also a number of non-music activities catering for all ages.
This year’s Love Supreme festival was led by Mercury Prize winners Ezra Collective on Friday, Loyle Carner, who was making his Love Supreme debut, on Saturday, and legendary alternative hip-hop group De La Soul closed the festival on Sunday with their only full-band UK performance of 2026.
Across the weekend the line-up also featured The Temptations & The Four Tops, Sister Sledge, Gabrielle, Lemar, Free Nationals, Samara Joy, Esperanza Spalding, Courtney Pine, Jalen Ngonda, Kokoroko, Moses Boyd, Bill Frisell & Greg Tardy, Joe Lovano & Antonio Faraò, Olive Jones, The War & Treaty, Young Gun Silver Fox, Loose Ends, Annie & The Caldwells, Kofi Stone, Knats, The Bad Plus and aron! alongside a wide range of artists spanning jazz, soul, funk and R&B.
The Love Supreme Jazz Festival is an annual event and next year’s dates are already set: 2nd to 4th July 2027. Super Early Bird Tickets are on sale and are up to 25% less than final prices – Find out more HERE.
So let’s get down to business….
Saturday 4th July:
NYJO PRESENTS MILES DAVIS 100
SOUTH DOWNS STAGE 11:45 – 12:45
Tasked with shaking off the heavy heads of a lively Friday night is The National Youth Jazz Orchestra, playing a number of Miles Davis compositions. While daunting to play the work of someone so prestigious, the orchestra, comprising piano, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, trumpet, French horn, tuba, double bass, and drums, is primed to capture every texture of Davis’ discography.
With a brief intro from George, they launch straight into ‘So What’ – with light cymbal and tom work pairing with a modal call and response from piano to horns, the audience is immediately wide-eyed. There’s a saying that ‘So What’ is simple enough for beginners to learn, yet you could spend a lifetime getting to the bottom of it – the orchestra shows a very comfortable grasp already.
Between tracks, their trumpeter, also serving as their bandleader, explains the significance of each standard, with a pure sense of excitement as they pass on their love for the artist. ‘Boplicity’ is driven by the horn section, with brush-type percussion providing a mellow underpinning that allows for solos, notably from the baritone saxophonist. Picking up the pace, ‘Jeru’ gets shoulders swaying and turns an early South Downs stage into something smoky – you’re half expecting to walk outside to a pitch-black city skyline, and overhear a “these cats can play.”
With an emphasis on Davis’ seminal ‘Birth Of The Cool’ and detours into Gil Evans collaborations, it’s refreshing to see such well-worn standards get a fresh take, with some tracks even rearranged by members to be more inclusive. Nearing the end of their hour slot, ‘Footprints’ from the ‘Miles Smiles’ record is unleashed – a near ten-minute epic, with restless percussion, darts of bop-style piano and steady double bass, their drummer’s arrangement of it is vibrant and remarkable in its ability to spotlight everyone on stage. With jazz often viewed as something dated, NYJO’s take on Miles Davis standards is the perfect way to start the day: the future of jazz paying tribute to its past.
(Keir Shields)
JOE WEBB TRIO
SUPREME STANDARDS STAGE 12:45 – 13:30
Our first band of the weekend were the Joe Webb Trio. Here to promote his new album ‘Neath Beat’, the follow-up to the Mercury Prize-shortlisted ‘Hamstrings & Hurricanes’.
Named after Webb’s hometown of Neath, in the Port Talbot County Borough, Wales, and rooted in his Welsh heritage, the new album is propelled by a fusion of the stride piano tradition and a contemporary edge, as featured throughout this all-too-short introduction. Led by the eponymous pianist and composer, with Will Sach joining on bass and Sam Jessoon on drums. We couldn’t have wished for a better way to start our first day.
Webb’s preamble was short but sweet. He informed the audience that his upbringing on the Welsh border of Scotland informed and inspired the new album, available to purchase in the Rough Trade tent. He also told us that he had football-inspired band t-shirts with him for sale that he would be carrying around for the rest of the day and would be happy for any of us to approach him at any point to purchase while he and the band were still on site.
The tent was comfortably full, with the music attracting a steady flow of newcomers throughout. The listeners weren’t there to shelter from blazing sunlight; they were drawn in by the sound of consummate performers offering something new but firmly rooted in traditional references. Something which the festival programmers excel at finding for the Supreme Standards lineup year after year. Tracks during the set including ‘Goal Mouth Scramble’ returned me to memories of Monday matinee screenings of black-and-white silent classics on television, with ‘Uncle Paul’ really reminding strangely of a Coldplay track, I hope they’re OK with that.
The fourth track in the set was a surprising instrumental cover of Ms Dynamite’s breakout track ‘Dy-Na-Mi-Tee’, given Webb’s own spin. For many in the audience, it wasn’t clear that that was what it was until Webb offered thanks to the singer after finishing the song. Webb ended the set by reiterating his opening statement, plugging the album and their signing later that day, as well as the t-shirts, before the trio took their leave of the stage.
(Jess Kemp)
TC AND THE GROOVE FAMILY
SOUTH DOWNS STAGE 13:30 – 14:30
The TC And The Groove Family music is actually really hard to pin down. There are all sorts in the mix. Afrobeat, hip hop, a bit of ska, funk, soul, jazz. It’s all in there and it works. This band is made of a collective of nine hugely talented individuals; among them playing the trombone, the sax, guitars held together by the impressive Tim Cook on drums. They come from around Birmingham so their music incorporates a range of influences.
Franz Von’s sing-song/rap vocals carries the message; one of unity and peace; the songs are very easy to groove along to. Tracks such as ‘Stand Strong’, and in particular, ‘We The People’, show that protest songs can also sound upbeat and celebratory. This feels like the music for the moment as well as being hugely enjoyable to listen to. A fantastic, high-energy performance!
(Rinee Sinharay)
OLIVE JONES
NORTH DOWNS STAGE 14:15 – 15:15
With a sparse North Downs stage slightly overrun by photographers in the pit, Olive Jones and her band take the stage. From the opener ‘Planes’ to the stunning harmonies with her bassist on ‘All In My Head’, Jones utilises folk techniques to lend her neo-soul a distinctive fingerstyle sound. “I just stepped off a flight from Canada”, Jones states, “What a welcome back to Blighty”, to cheers, with no cobwebs to be shaken off.
With such a lineage of greats, it makes sense that Jones also follows the weekend trend of covering a legend – opting for a spellbinding solo, acoustic version of Nina Simone’s ‘Wild Is The Wind.’ Jones feels like a folk singer who stumbled into Ronnie Scott’s, even leaning into explicitly political lyrics with anti-Brexit anthem ‘Kingdom’, laden with Herbie Hancock-type synth and bluesy punch.
“Love Supreme, are you ready to dance?” she coyly asks before jumping into the buttery guitar tones of ‘End Of Time.’ With a subtle power to her voice, Jones concludes with the pleading ‘Mary Come Home.’ Across a blisteringly hot mid-afternoon set, Olive Jones proves why she’s been featured on Gotts Street Park and has garnered millions of streams; her sound is modern yet familiar, melding enough classics to evoke the side-by-side records of Joan Baez and Anita Baker from your parents’ record collection.
(Keir Shields)
HETTA FALZON
SUPREME STANDARDS STAGE 15:15 – 16:00
This set is a calm, reflective oasis amongst the hubbub of Love Supreme. On stage were two young women Hetta Falzon at the grand piano and her friend, Polly Reinhardt on the cello. There was an attentive and appreciative hush from the audience.
Hetta was classically trained at a tender age. Now at 22, Hetta has enjoyed remarkable success, for example Young Songwriter 2021, with several festival appearances, including Glastonbury under her belt.
Hetta’s voice has been compared to Norah Jones and Joni Mitchell. Her songs are about relationships and chart changes in her life. During the set, she talks about the background to her songs and how they’ve come about, such as ‘So Great’ which came from a conversation over Christmas dinner. ‘Sobering’ is about the one that got away; which was written and sung beautifully. The piano and cello give the lyrics emotional depth, a sense of nostalgia and a timeless appeal. These are words from a lived experience and even though Hetta is still young, there is a maturity that resonates.
(Rinee Sinharay)
LOOSE ENDS
SOUTH DOWNS STAGE 15:15 – 16:15
This was another act that I thought I wasn’t familiar with, but had a vague idea that I might have heard before, they were recommended by several people. We took ourselves along and took up my preferred perching position on stage right (to the left as you look at the stage). Before leaving to catch the act, one of our team asked if they were the band from the ‘80s. It was then that it clicked for me and their 1985 hit ‘Hangin’ On a String (Contemplating)’ started playing rent free in my head as we walked towards the stage.
Memory triggered, I prepared for a nostalgic return to the ‘80s charts, which though I only have vague memories of have somehow managed to absorb and store many of the tracks of the Top Forty somewhere hiding latently for future reference.
The act themselves had gone for cohesive black and white attire. Following line-up changes in 1990, founding member Carl McIntosh continues to perform celebrating their catalogue that helped define British R&B. Their coordinated dance moves both complimented the tracks and served to make the recollection of their television appearances return even more vividly. Smooth, catchy and easy on the ears, this was the kind of pleasant easing into a festival that I like and that Love Supreme does so well.
They played the hits including ‘Hangin’ On A String’, ‘Gonna Make You Mine’ knowing full well what the fans in the audience wanted, many of whom were singing word perfect around us. Audience interaction was kept to a minimum with the group preferring to play back-to-back hits from their back catalogue. They stopped briefly to ask the audience, “How you doin’ out here? Ah, feeling good? Yeah, this is a soul tent!”, garnering raucous cheers from the crowd before playing into their much slower paced hit, ‘You Can’t Stop The Rain.’ Before the final song of the set ‘Don’t Be A Fool’ the band urged the audience to follow them on all social media. From the chilled upbeat soul stylings of Loose Ends, we made our way back to the main stage.
(Jess Kemp)
LEMAR
NORTH DOWNS STAGE 16:00 – 17:00
With a career spanning over two decades, the double Brit Award and triple MOBO Award-winning British singer and songwriter has largely been absent from the mainstream charts until his most recent 2023 album ‘Page In My Heart’. It’s easy to forget that he has had seven Top 10 singles, sold more than two million albums, and collaborated with some of music’s biggest names, including Lionel Richie, Justin Timberlake, Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé, and Mariah Carey. Seemingly always in the charts during the 2000s, more recently his efforts have been turned towards acting roles, appearing in the Netflix series ‘Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story’ and in the West End Theatre production of ‘Sister Act’.
I was intrigued to see what he would offer the audience by way of a reminder of his original musical back catalogue. Opening with a cover of the Spencer Davis Group’s’ ‘Gimme Some Lovin’’then pleasing newcomers and longtime fans with a medley of his best-known tracks then offering an hour’s worth of R&B and soul.
Slick as ever, with his ever-ready smile Lamar and his live band kept the pace up segueing between tracks effortlessly, owning the stage as if he had never been off it.
While touring this year Lamar has also returned to the studio to work on new music. It’ll be interesting to see which artistic direction his career takes.
(Jess Kemp)
KOFI STONE
SUPREME STANDARDS STAGE 16:30 – 17:30
With just a DJ to back on stage, Kofi Stone initially feels like a sore thumb at a festival usually intended for live bands. Perhaps sensing this, Stone sprints onto the stage to the boom-bap of ‘Stories In Pyjamas’, bouncing arms in the air before the track has a moment to breathe. When the beat cuts out, Stone shouts “Free Congo/ Free Sudan/ Free Palestine” to huge cheers from a packed-out Supreme Standards tent.
Building on a broken ‘90s piano line with a snare-heavy beat, ‘Same Old’ reflects on the mundanities of day-to-day life and earns a crowd call-and-response of “Same old, same old.” While seemingly out of step with the rest of the festival’s bookings, Stone is a true force on stage as he tasks the audience with the parts of collaborators – even getting the audience in tune for Maverick Sabre’s chorus on the gooey-eyed, Latin-infused ‘Venice.’
With a largely boom-bap rap set, Stone’s introspective lyrics balance the bravado of tracks like ‘King David Flow’ for an assured set built on a desire to prove people wrong. “I’ve been told we need to come off, but I have two more for you”, Stone announces, “They might turn it off” as the jazzy downtempo earnestness of ‘It’s Ok To Cry’ finally arrives, allowing the men to put their arms around their pals and say they love them.
To the chagrin of an increasingly seething stage manager on the sidelines, Stone refuses to leave the set on a slow note, throwing flowers into the crowd before barrelling into the boom-bap bassiness of ‘Talk About Us.’ Coming down from the stage to the barrier so everyone can get the obligatory festival photo, Kofi Stone’s set is relentless in speed but huge on feeling, deserving to be on this bill just as much as any artist.
(Keir Shields)
COURTNEY PINE
SOUTH DOWNS STAGE 17:00 – 18:00
Somehow, I’ve always managed to miss Courtney Pine at Love Supreme, a regular performer at the festival. There is always a clash with another artist, and I always kick myself for missing him. This year I was determined to make a point of catching the British Jazz legend.
On arrival on stage Pine opened with the bars from ‘A Love Supreme’ on the sax which he entered a call and response with the audience singing back the vocals to him after he played them on his alto sax. Following the explosive intro, he introduced himself, “I’m Courtney Pine and I love Jazz”, as if there could be any doubt in the audience as to who he was and why he was there.
Celebrating four decades at the forefront of British jazz, Courtney Pine was making a return to the stage with a retrospective tour to coincide with the release of his career spanning compilation on Universal records. ‘Out Of The Ghetto: A Modern-Day Jazz Story’.
The special live show brought together key moments from Pine’s remarkable back catalogue, and previously unreleased work. Making sure to hit every conceivable soaring high note, he did not fail to live up to his reputation and ticked all my boxes as a sucker for the sax. Pine managed to bookend his set with an outro rendition of ‘Love Supreme’, always a class act.
(Jess Kemp)
KNATS
SUPREME STANDARDS STAGE 18:15 – 19:15
We had not heard of Knats previously until this weekend, but there was a buzz about them, so we decided to go and take a look. We were not disappointed. Before heading in we had sat near the tent listening to what we thought might be the sound engineer having a breakdown, it transpired to be the band doing their soundcheck. That should give you some idea of the unexpected joy that was the band’s performance. Not to mention the timbre of howls that would later come from the collective.
Knats lineup has evolved from a duo of school mates Stan Woodward songwriter and bassist and King David-Ike Elechi on drums, to now include trumpeter Ferg Kilsby (Woodwards Brother), saxophonist George Johnson, pianist Sandro Shar (replaced by Alex Rose on the day) and occasional vocals from poet Cooper Robson. Typically, the band compose the arrangements together after Woodward has written the lyrics.
The quintet from Newcastle pair Cooper Robson’s Geordie spoken word rhymes of their hometown and the wider British experience with a frenetic jazz ensemble to create a sound they refer to as “Geordie Jazz”. This move away from the more traditional bands was a breath of fresh air and a standout experience of the weekend. Their bombastic, vibrant and joyous set included tracks from their new album interspersed with some older tracks ‘A Great Day Out In Newcastle’, ‘Wor Jackie’, ‘Bridges To Burn’, ‘Carpet Doctor’, and ‘Bigg Market Scrappa’. After ‘Skittles’, Woodward asked “Does anyone want a boogie”, twice encouraging the audience to shout louder in response when they failed to do so the first time, before pelting into the speedy Stanley Clarke-style number.
Both Robson and Woodward excel at audience interaction making it seem as if they are directly addressing the audience when they are in fact leading into the next track.
At one-point Elechi came out from behind his kit to interact with the audience before making his way back onto stage. Finishing on the phenomenal ‘Never Gonna Be A Boxer’. Before promoting the 2026 album and signing over in Rough Trade and taking leave of the stage leaving the audience calling for more, including us.
(Jess Kemp)
ESPERANZA SPALDING
SOUTH DOWNS STAGE 18:45 – 19:45
Bowled over by Knats, we missed the start of the Esperanza Spalding set, but I had been looking forward to seeing the excellent jazz bassist and singer, so we hot footed it over as soon as we could.
On arrival we found that the set had started later due to an extended soundcheck and re-tuning, which obviously I didn’t mind, as it meant we had missed less. When we arrived, she had already switched to her double bass. Her vocal range has been likened to Minnie Riperton’s in range, ringing out across the tent, a joy to listen to hear.
Spalding is an “eaabibacliitoti” artist, trained and initiated in the North American jazz lineage and tradition. This means she is “European-African ancestored being influenced by American cultures living in Indigenous Territories of Turtle Island”.
The set covered songs from her 2024 album in collaboration with Milton Nascimento, ‘Milton + Esperanza’, as well as other tracks from her back catalogue including ‘Thang’.
The multilingual artist sang in Portuguese, stopping to tell the audience how beautiful the lyrics were. She had said she would translate, then changed her mind heading into the track. What we saw of the set was flawless and on the tails of Knats thoroughly lifted our spirits for the day.
(Jess Kemp)
JALEN NGONDA
NORTH DOWNS STAGE 19:30 – 20:45
“I can’t believe The Temptations and Four Tops are playing today”, Ngonda admits, “They’re the reason I’m on now.” With his brand of nostalgia-baiting R&B, it’s hard to disagree with the statement made midway through his hour and 15-minute set. Everything about Ngonda, from his silk shirts and high-waisted pleats to his arrival on stage while his band is playing, seems like an homage.
From the opening notes of ‘Burning Temptation’, Ngonda’s voice is striking: heavily owed to Motown legends, it sounds exactly the same live. With a recent quote from Rolling Stone, Ngonda claims he “doesn’t listen to any music past 1972” – the forlorn despairing of ‘That’s All I Wanted From You’ with its luscious arrangement confirms this, mastering the art of a bygone era. However, this is arguably the biggest issue – Ngonda has a formula, and refuses to shift from it, and the result is something that’s enthralling for half an hour, but drags slightly at the hour mark.
‘Come Around And Love Me’ in all its Gamble & Huff glory sees Ngonda on keys, and the dancefloor filling up with the dry staccato stabs of guitar locking in with the rhythm section. With his band leaving the stage, Ngonda honours Jimmy Reed with a traditional blues take on ‘Baby What You Want Me To Do’, lending his soulful vocals to the catchy standard – with the tempo firmly in first gear, the doo-wop bob of ‘Good Good Love’ is a pure showcase of Ngonda’s voice.
“I forgot it’s a festival – we need to dance!” Ngonda announces before launching into the Curtis Mayfield-indebted ‘I Need You’, giving the feet a chance to finally move. With the viral funk jangle of ‘If You Don’t Want My Love’ sparking sing-alongs and descending into a full-band jam session, Ngonda states, “I’m sure I’ll be in your algorithm soon.” With a generational voice and an encyclopaedic knowledge of Berry Gordy’s best, Jalen Ngonda is an anemoiac star if slightly too reliant on his nostalgia for the Northern Soul formula to really fill a set over an hour.
(Keir Shields)
THE TEMPTATIONS & THE FOUR TOPS
SOUTH DOWNS STAGE 20:30 – 22:15
These guys really should have been on the North Downs main stage rather than in the South Downs marquee. It was a multi-generational packed-out crowd that came to see these two legendary groups. Although The Four Tops, sadly no longer has anyone from the original line-up, Otis Williams, remarkably, is the only original member of The Temptations; and he’s still rocking those moves. Both bands have been recognised by various musical institutions such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Temptations describe themselves as “Rock and Roll / Motown royalty”, rightly so, and are celebrating a billion streams, proving they are still relevant in today’s shifting musical landscape.
The band consisted of a brass section of eight musicians, a drummer and two guitarists and two keyboard players.
It’s easy to underestimate the huge influence these two bands have had. Songs like ‘Reach Out’ and ‘My Girl’ are so embedded in cultural consciousness. Is there anyone who doesn’t know the words? The set ran from 20:30 -22:15 and paused briefly for the changeover in acts.
The Four Tops and The Temptations first performed back to back in 1983 and they’ve paired up to perform ever since. The sharp suits, the harmonies, the choreography and a back catalogue of danceable and instantly recognisable songs. The crowd happily sang away to all the tracks.
It was remarkable how their music, spanning decades, brought all ages together in what was a truly memorable and enjoyable musical experience.
(Rinee Sinharay)
LOYLE CARNER
NORTH DOWNS STAGE 21:30 – 22:45
With a crowd rivalling Ezra Collective’s Friday night, Loyle Carner arrives to the youngest audience of the weekend – eschewing the usual post-GCSE Reading festival antics in favour of an East Sussex jazz festival. However, Carner’s loving and emotionally open boom-bap resonates with Gen-Z to a remarkable degree, with cheers ringing out as soon as he steps onto the North Downs stage. However, opener ‘All I Need’ has to be restarted due to someone passing out – in this gap, Carner decides to tell us a poem, possibly teasing new material with the words “Just sink don’t swim/Don’t choke.” Once started again, the sparse guitar chords build into a wall while darting around breakbeat drums, for a slightly downtrodden opening.
“Thank you for checking us out”, Carner states, “I really thought everyone would still be at The Temptations.” While following cut ‘Plastic’ is a baffling choice from such a rich discography, ‘Ain’t Nothing Changed’ brings the energy back with smoky horns, steady boom-bap and the first singalong so far. Dedicated to Tom Misch, the iconic lo-fi vibrato tones of ‘Damselfly’ linger in the air, a warm track that trusts the audience with the chorus in Misch’s absence.
Unafraid of speaking his mind, Carner introduces ‘Horcrux’ with “I love Harry Potter but f*ck JK Rowling” – the scattered rolling groove feels like Carner’s flow is chasing it, with moving lyrics about his love for his kids. Keeping the loving theme, the minimalist, floating ‘Desoleil (Brilliant Corners)’ features Sampha’s pre-recorded chorus, another missed opportunity for a guest.
With another crowd member passing out, Carner urges a packed crowd to drink more water. With the late-night pondering of ‘Homerton’ ending with an atmospheric piano solo, it flows superbly into the gospel-sampled indignance of ‘Nobody Knows (Ladas Road).’ While lacking the fury of prior live renditions, the lyrics retain their power – “You can’t hate the roots of the tree and not hate the tree/ so can I hate my father/ without hating me” cuts even deeper when shouted back to a man that felt these words so deeply. “F*ck Nigel Farage, man”, Carner spits out, purging negativity before the lullaby of ‘Lyin’ – even admitting he’s still uncomfortable singing in front of a crowd.
With lights in the air, Carner seems incredulous that he’s had this effect. With the pre-recorded vocals of Jorja Smith on ‘Loose Ends’ momentarily convincing the crowd she’s appeared, the mood of a Saturday crowd is incredibly pensive. Sensing this, Carner transitions straight into the smooth, 90s hip-hop bounce of ‘Ice Water’ – getting huge cheers and hands in the air.
“As Femi Koleoso says, we’re almost at the top of the mountain”, Carner teases, before launching into a punched-up boom of ‘Speed Of Plight’, sliced only by a siren-like piano loop, as venting lyrics provide a release. ‘About Time’ sees the mood drop slightly into a reflective mode, with bass and drums mixed higher as the crowd sings along to “it’s about time that I learned my lesson.” Dedicated to his “favourite chef”, the breezy organ of ‘Ottolenghi’ lingers in the air as the cameras find Yotam Ottolenghi himself in the photographer’s pit, visibly moved and on the verge of tears as the crowd takes Jordan Rakei’s chorus.
While this would be the perfectly sentimental closer, the dizzying confessional of ‘A Lasting Place’ sees Carner at his most self-flagellating over a looping syncopation of keys and breakbeat hi-hat rhythm; lyrics of “but I don’t wanna be an old man” signal the band to take over, and the field breaks into motion. With such introspective lyrics, the track marks a perfect conclusion for someone who wears his bleeding heart on his sleeve. While slightly hampered by a frustrating lack of guests and a rigid commitment to the same setlist, Carner’s pull and craft at confessionalism is undeniably powerful – even if it makes you want to write a diary entry, not dance.
(Keir Shields)
