Jazzwise: Camilla George among the highlights at Jazz In The Park, Romania

“Camilla George provided the best ‘jazz’ performance of the weekend. Captivating and with a lyrical, flighty tone to her alto saxophone playing, she was backed by a muscular three piece mostly playing material from her new album Ibio-Ibio. The performance oozed vitality and enjoyment, George’s compositions seamlessly melding Nigerian melodic patterns with the influence of London. On ‘Creation- Abasi and Atai’, one could hear 80s’ jazz-boogie with its bubbling bass and Rod Youngs’ hard but stripped back drums, an invincible groove for Renato Paris’ sensitive keys and the storytelling prowess of George’s sax. Solos were offered and taken with exceptional improvising from Jihad Darwish on bass and some wonderful keys and vocals interplay from Paris. The Sunday evening crowd were thrilled and when the set ended with an extended and ecstatic version of ‘How Nehemiah Got Free’ from her breakout album ‘The People Will Fly’, the cheers rolled into the night.” – Jazzwise, September 2023