Many people may be writing obituaries for jazz, but producers who unearth new talents seem not to have heard the ill omens. One after another, singers enter the public consciousness with debut records as fully mature artists with the promise of a bright future ahead. Kandace Springs is one such artist, with her Afro coiffure and red Fender piano a throwback to a time four decades past.
Released in 2016, her debut album Soul Eyes walks the boundaries between soul, jazz and pop. She draws on all sources in her performances: being deeply familiar with all three musical worlds, her engaging alto voice is superbly suited to interpreting every mood. Her successful R&B/hip hop EP issued in 2014 was only an overture to the even more inspired music to come. This music really springs from the soul, reflecting not only Kandace’s long-standing jazz leanings, but also the experience of taking to the stage with the late Prince, when she was invited by the pop sensation to perform at a concert marking the 30th anniversary of Purple Rain. Kandace’s great virtue is her natural style, allied with a maturity in her somewhat smoky vocals, delivered with the phrasing of an artist with a good number of records already behind her. And we shouldn’t forget the lean accompaniment the singer provides herself on the piano. Her repertoire features songs that are rarely heard, and all the more carefully chosen for that. The jazz standard that provides the title to her album is a Mal Waldron composition, while the more soulful themes derive from the likes of War’s inflammatory The World is a Ghetto.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest