Alfa Mist 24th September

I spoke to a woman by the cafe who was waiting for her friend to arrive. She told me that they both "take turns choosing shows" but there's always an "overlap" with genres. She hadn't seen Alfa Mist before but has been to jazz performances prior and said she thinks Alfa Mist is comparably "more mellow".

I decide it'a time to go inside, the sun had set by the time Alfa Mist came to the stage. I follow the sound, it leads me to a dim but colourfully lit whimsical 'Alice in Wonderland' style striped path and I walk into to a hidden forest within Regents Park. I've been there plenty of times and could never guess there was an extra layer of forestry.

It felt cosy, hidden and a bit magical inside and I take my seat right on time. The band enter the stage and without introduction start to perform an otherwordly song called Galaxy, you can barely tell you're sitting outside in the open as it was easy to get immersed in the music, mist and the lights on stage, the gentle breeze being the only reminder..

Alfa Mist eventually introduces himself in his thick east London accent. I heard solos from the saxophone, guitar and drums throughout the night which sounded beautiful and haunting amongst the outdoor landscape, I wondered how far it echoed through the park. There wasn't alot of lyrical content besides Breathe with stunning vocals from Kaya Thomas-Dyke. This show was very different from what I was used to and felt very pragmatic, emotion was expressed through instruments instead of lyrics and it made me feel very relaxed.

There was no front man or woman shaking their stuff standing in front of the stage, Alfa Mist himself was sitting at the side stage with his keyboard. I noticed when their drummer Nathan Shingler did his solo respectfully everybody else kneeled down, spotlight and focus on his expertise skill. A quick google search told me Alfa Mist is a mix between jazz and hip hop, I could hear the influences between the two with the hard bass, drums and saxophone.

Historically jazz and hip hop musicians were intrigued with one another but it took time for the two to meet to create this interesting subgenre of music but jazz is no stranger to diving into other music genres, Penny Rimbaud who formed the anarcho punk band Crass was also a performative poet in a collective of jazz musicians. In complete honesty I'd never heard anything like this before and I was excited, I felt my head and feet gently bopping and tapping on the ground to the rhythm, I looked around me and saw other people's heads moving too.

The audience were not dressed in stereotypical cinematic jazz fashion sporting black polo necks and tight jeans such as Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face but very casual and practical, oh and there was no interpretive dancing. The first time jazz came to my attention was reading Jack Kerouac and books about the beatnik culture in the U.S in the 60s. I also have a memory that's ingrained in my mind sitting on the tube when I was teenager, watching and hearing a woman listening to jazz through her headphones and expressively dancing, tapping and moving her body as if noone was watching her. I was left wanting more and satisfied there was an encore, the standing ovation was well deserved.

The Regents Park Open Air theatre is near Queen Mary's Garden within Regents Park, it's worth it to arrive there early in the summer to see the colourful rose garden in full bloom. Depending on what side of London you're travelling from, by train it's close to Baker Street station. The park is very big and also hosts London Zoo and connects to Primrose Hill but despite this I was still surprised when I stepped inside of it's existence within the park. The entrance is small with a box office, staff and security are standing outside and they have bag checks. There is a cafe nearby but they have a large bar selling a selection of alcohol and food, a seating and picnic area and of course, a merch table. There are also multiple entrances labelled 'gangway 1-4' which corresponds with what's on your ticket, it's entirely seated. Definitely keep an eye on the weather as it's outdoors.