Kai Reesu, an emerging name on the central belt music scene, played their latest capital city gig as part of the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival’s Novus programme, which celebrates new music and showcases Scotland’s most inventive artists.
A queue snaked around The Jazz Bar, and as someone behind me remarked, ‘I didn’t know you could fit this many people in there.’ Kai Reesu had sold out, and the buzzing, mixed crowd was a testament to their growing influence.
Once inside the night unfolded in layers, a journey through sound, emotion and instrumental prowess. The set opened with a piano-led melody from Paul Copeland on keys soon joined by smooth saxophones, immediately drawing the audience in. From the very start, there was a classic jazz style of building momentum, allowing each instrumental voice to have its own space while seamlessly blending into the sphere of old school sounds.
Their set opened with a back-to-back pairing of their more melancholic numbers, ‘Doom Piano’ and ‘Rivrsong’. What’s better than one saxophone, I wondered. The answer, two saxophones, became clear as the group launched into a richness highlighting the depth and warmth that multiple saxophones bring to the table. It wasn’t long before the tempo shifted, moving into a funk-infused, bass-heavy groove that had the audience locked in.
The sadness quickly passed on to movement as vocalist Jurnalist, now seated on stage, joined in for a hip-hop-infused track, demonstrating the band’s fluid approach to genre, seamlessly blending jazz with contemporary beats.
By the second set, the energy had transformed again. ‘Purposes’ came in with a funky bass and sultry brass, ushering an exploration of nu-jazz that felt as fresh as it was timeless. The night’s theme of jazz reinvention continued. Experimental synth-work added new textures, while one saxophone was at times manipulated to create soaring effects, gaining cheers from the captivated audience.
One of the evening’s most reflective moments came with ’Alvvays Svnny’, a track steeped in nostalgia and personal journey. Its lyrics, ‘The smallest of our moments make the biggest of our stories’ lingered in the air as the audience swayed and bopped in unison.Â
As the night closed with a soaring saxophone climax, the crowd remained locked in. With a new mixtape on the horizon and a release night scheduled in April, this performance felt like a preview of even greater things to come. And judging by the sophisticated yet deeply engaged jazz and blues festival audience, they’ll be there, eagerly waiting the next time Kai Reesu takes the stage.
