Live Event Review: W.Led Jazz Series Part 1 @ Woolwich Works
Historically, few female instrumentalists, composers, arrangers have been part of the Jazz music history books. The W.Led Jazz Series has been curated to help recognise and celebrate women’s contributions to the industry.
This unique collection of performances featured a host of talented female musicians ranging from Raquel Martins, Plumm, Rachael Cohen, Juanita Euka, Ms Maurice and Rosie Frater-Taylor. The event was spread out across two evenings at Woolwich Works and we had the wonderful opportunity to cover the 1st part of the 2-day event!
Venue
The Fireworks Factory, Woolwich Works was nothing other than extraordinary. The venue is incredibly modernised and built-up with great facilities and above par disabled access, so we definitely recommend it to people looking for a nice evening out with their loved ones, family and friends!
Woolwich Works is run by Woolwich Creative District Trust - an independent registered charity, that currently utilise the venue for the purposes of advancing creativity for the public benefit! The organisation provide facilities to improve the conditions of the life of residents of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and their Charitable Objectives determine the greater purpose of the Trust. They express in short-form that their mission is “to offer hope and opportunity by enabling people to realise their creative potential”.
Raquel Martins
Raquel Martins was the first to perform at the event! We previously featured her hit single “Freedom” on our platform, so we were really excited to finally see her live! Raquel ended up somehow surpassing my high expectations. She was an amazing performer and her vocals sounded as good, if not better than her recordings. Raquel dropped all of my favourite tracks, and her synergy with her band was really special! My personal highlight of her performance was “Real”, as I absolutely love the good vibes on this record.
Plumm
Plumm was the plentiful surprise of the night! I had not previously heard of her prior to this performance, but my oh my was she incredible! Her voice was breathtaking and I just couldn’t get enough of her vocal range. Her band were on another level and they all absolutely tore their solos apart! Plumm ended her magnificent set with a soul touching cover of Prince’s Purple Rain! It was a really special moment and it was definitely my personal highlight of the performance.
Rachael cohen
Headliner and saxophonist Rachael Cohen ended the night to remember with complete style. She was absolutely outstanding on the sax and her band were nothing short of incredible. When you hear the music of this calibre live, you wonder why it’s not more popular... The highlight of this set was the whole damn thing! Her mastery and skills on the saxophone really blew me away and it was a pleasure witnessing the set from start to finish.
Summary
All-in-all, the whole experience was really amazing. From the iconic venue to the phenomenally talented acts this event really had it all! It’s really great to see that women’s contribution to music, and particularly Jazz, is starting to be more celebrated and noticed! I’m honoured to have been part of the whole evening, so I really wish I could have attended both days!
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