Painstakingly slicked hair and bookworm glasses top-ended a schoolboy sweater vest-shirt-and-tie ensemble. This was Oscar Jerome onstage at Bristol’s Trinity Centre. You could easily have mistaken him for your super straight-edge Geography teacher at a passing glance. That was, until, he reached for the guitar. Opening with ‘Sun For Someone’ from his previous album ‘Breathe Deep’, he played with all the tenacity of George Benson and the enthusiasm of someone who knows just how lucky they are to make music for a living.

In all seriousness, Jerome’s clothing choices are all very deliberate and of-the-moment. His music is no different. ‘The Spoon’ is his second studio album and expands the emotional and political themes built in his earlier releases. Feelings of struggle against anxiety, authoritarianism and apathy flow from the Norwich-born musician in his live renditions of ‘Your Saint’ and The Spoon’s title track.

Selling tickets on the night of an England match during the World Cup is a distinctly hard sell, but the turnout at Trinity Centre was more than decent. As a contributing member of popular jazz collective KOKORO, you would expect it. His ability to sing and play guitar simultaneously puts the soppy singer-songwriters of our world to shame. He breezed through complex chord changes and challenging vocal runs like only a seasoned Jazz musician could. This is part of what makes him arguably one of the UK’s most underrated artists.

‘Sweet Isolation’ offered up down-tempo ethereal grooves for the people of Bristol. Anyone who popped to the bar for this was a fool to have missed Jerome slink through his sensual lyrics and accompanying guitar wizardry. ‘Use It’, a personal favourite, followed and the track had a distinctly Jerome hook to it. He has a unique ability to create riffs that are both interesting, unexpected and all too easy to sway the hips to.

Some fans have been bringing their cutlery to this recent tour, separating the weak from the chaff in Jerome’s fandom. A lone spoon waggled above the heads of surrounding punters, waving towards Oscar to snag his attention. Grinning at the cutlery-based greeting, a warm exchange with the crowd followed, ending here:

“Alright, now shut the fuck up…” He jests. “It’s time for a serious one.”

‘Do You Really Feel It’ has become one of Oscar Jerome’s biggest hits, having garnered over 7 million listens on Spotify since its release in 2018. It’s the type of tune that should get the most stoic of introverts, at the very least, bobbing their head. Jerome commanded his crowd to dance, and dance they did.

As the faux-final song drew to a close and the grooves of shuffled feet dispersed, the natural roar of “encore!” swelled. Jerome appeared once again. This time for ‘No Need’, a track released in collaboration with Ben Hauke. The crowd is teased in by the rising pitter-patter of the hi-hat. The band and the audience become one with the lyrics. “We swing like a pendulum.” Art imitates life and life imitates art, as they say…

A certain level of disappointment from his spoon costume not making an appearance (I’m not joking, check his instagram) was truly dwarfed by the pleasure of seeing one of jazz’s most promising and talented artists. Oscar Jerome will no doubt continue carving out the future of the genre and, hopefully, in Bristol once again.

Words: Ollie Chard