Ahead of Kokoroko’s newest EP, Get The Message, coming out on November 1st, I made the arduous journey up to Chicago to see the jazz and afrobeat group perform live at Logan Square Auditorium on Friday, Oct. 18. After whipping 80 miles per hour on I-70 to Saint Louis and hopping on the next Amtrak up to Chicago, I was ready to watch a group I have been following since my junior year of high school.
Kokoroko is a London-based seven-piece jazz group focused on African-inspired rhythm and melody. After releasing their self-titled Kokoroko EP in 2019, Kokoroko have established themselves as an upcoming voice in the jazz world and have grown a great audience in their Great Britain and Europe. When I went up to the merch counter at the concert, the clerk asked me how I found the music because many of the people going to these concerts in North America were British.
Getting to the door at 7:30 P.M. for a concert that started at 9:30 P.M. meant that me and my brother were able to sneak our way to the front of the venue. Ahead of the show I bought all of the merch I could hold while still dancing. This meant getting a shirt, tote bag, and poster. With the receipt of my tickets being months in the past, I felt like I could treat myself to as much merch as I wanted.
I discovered Kokoroko in February 2022, a time in my life when I was fully immersed in playing and listening to jazz music. As a jazz trumpet player, I find it difficult to find contemporary trumpet players that really speak to me, but as soon as I heard Sheila Maurice-Grey on Kokoroko, I knew I had found a special band. Her emphatic, emotional, and commanding voice is one rare to find in the current jazz trumpet scene. Additionally, the rest of the band sets up a deep pocket for the other band members to thrive in their improvisational breaks.
Since then, I have followed the band’s progression as they released their first full-length album, Could We Be More, in summer 2022. Could We Be More doubles down on the rhythmic palette of Kokoroko, but more hints of their afro-beat style can be found in songs like “Ewà Inú,” and “Soul Searching.” The melodies on Could We Be More are memorable and catchy, which has even led me to transcribing them on my trumpet while listening to the album.
Once the band got on stage, they began the show with a song from their upcoming EP, “Higher.” Over the course of the night I got to hear all of the songs that are coming on their new four track project coming out in a week. The band also played covers and their older music, all met with praise by me and the rest of the audience. Hearing “Dide O” from Could We Be More live is definitely a musical highlight for the year.
As an encore, the band played “Abusey Junction,” their most popular song on Spotify and Youtube. It is a slower song, and as I looked around I saw people crying, connecting to this deeply emotional music. For me, Kokoroko has made music that can feel like a warm hug, understanding whatever struggles you may be going through. I certainly felt that way in the concert hall that night.
After the show wrapped up, I got my hands on the set-list from the drummer. I had to fan out, and I went up to the trumpet player and band leader Sheila Maurice-Grey and got the setlist signed and took a few photos.
Overall, the trip up to Chicago was totally worth it and built my hype for the new EP even more. Get The Message comes out on November 1st, and I look forward to hearing the studio recordings of the songs I heard in Chicago.
