Kandace Springs – Indy Jazz Fest 2024

Sep 21

By Mark Sheldon on Nuvo.net

Kandace Springs and her trio kicked off the first night of Indy Jazz Fest 2024 with two performances at the Jazz Kitchen on September 17, 2024, to full houses and an exuberant crowd.

Springs on vocals and keyboards had the perfect mix – from originals to covers, jazz, R&B, and an occasional bossa nova beat - and that sultry smooth voice that left the end of each hour and a half-set with the audience wanting more.

With her trio of Camille Gainer–Jones on drums and Destiny Diggs Pico on bass, Springs has been on tour promoting her latest album, Run Your Race – a vinyl of almost all original songs and a tribute album to her late father, legendary Nashville soul singer Scat Springs. She sang the title track as she shared memories of her father and sang the tune "Closer To Me," also on the album.

There were familiar tunes as Springs put her own take on crowd favorites done by some of her favorite artists: Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly" and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"; Nina Simone's famous "I Put A Spell On You" and "Angel Eyes"; Sade's "Pearls"; Hoagy Carmichael's "The Nearness of You"; Ella Fitzgerald's version of "Solitude" and The Sylistics' "People Make The World Go Round."

What a great night and the start of two weeks of amazing music from Indy Jazz Fest – a gem in our city that began in 1999 and which continues to celebrate the acclaimed legacy that our city has brought to this music.