The Kentucky Theatre Equinox Jazz Festival Lexington, KY September 21 2025 by Keith Halladay
I’ve seen a lot of concerts in my life, and in those concerts, a lot of great singers. But no singer has ever astonished me like Kandace Springs did last night. I’d seen videos, heard audio, but still I wasn’t prepared for her instrument, for the majesty of her voice. I knew she’d been compared with Sarah Vaughan, and that’s close, but not quite it. She has the warm, rich alto range of Ms. Vaughan, but it’s more as though Kandace is the culmination of all the great jazz and ballad singers that came before her: power, control, range, and expressiveness in equal measure, with every note pitch perfect, rhythmically precise, and emotionally devastating. And all that while playing the piano or Rhodes, which she kills at playing, too.
When I had to take break from having my heart sucked out of my chest, I focused on the bassist, a very young looking woman named Caylen Bryant, who played her instrument with something close to perfect feel. She was never flashy, but every note meant something. I knew, even before we in the audience learned that she’d just earned a master’s from Juilliard, that she was seriously practiced. Not a few hours a day. More like eight, ten. You realize sometimes, as an amateur musician, what true dedication and mastery looks like. That’s what this was. And that doesn’t even take into account her harmony vocals. She’s a thrilling soprano, with spectacular, shimmering highs; Kandace gave her plenty of room to take over the melodies, but when they harmonized, that’s where the magic happened. I was brought to tears repeatedly.
And then Camille Gainer on drums, who wore a golden-blonde wig, a gold-and-black metallic blouse over black slacks, and played the first set in sunglasses. Fabulous. We learned she hailed from Jamaica, Queens, and I could tell her home base was raw, unadulterated basement funk. That said, she spent much of the evening on brushes, and was never obtrusive, but always sensitive to the song. Most importantly, she brought fun to the evening: just the joy of playing music. With friends.
All the festival shows were great, but this one…I got home a little after nine and realized I was exhausted. Not physically, but emotionally. I’d spent 90 minutes on the edge of my seat, clinging to every lyric, and while I’m normally the type to be be ready to go home as soon as the last note is played, this time I just wanted to hear Kandace sing forever. In the end I gave up trying to do anything interesting last night and just went to bed around ten-thirty, drained.
But I write this not as a you-should-have-been-there review, although you should have, but because it occurred to me, having watched three young black women with massive talent refined by tens of thousands of hours of practice perform at the very highest level of their art, that what I really saw was a celebration of, well, the brilliance of black women, and of diversity in general. And conversely, what a great fuck-you to all those in the current moment who seek to diminish the achievements and possibilities of anyone who isn’t a white male, and to cynically honor the bullshit and hatred spouted by the most mediocre among them—who know nothing of talent, of hard work, of excellence. That band—Kandace Springs and her trio—is miles better than anything any of that lot could or will ever do. We should spend more time honoring that.
TOUR DATES
Sep 28 Joe’s Pub, New York, NY
Oct 04 Rudy’s Jazz Room, Nashville, TN
Oct 26 Jazz Club, Hanover, Germany
Oct 27 Nica Jazz Club, Hamburg, Germany
Oct 29 TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht, Netherlands
Nov 05 Ronnie Scott’s, London, UK
Nov 06 Ronnie Scott’s, London, UK
Dec 27 New Orleans Jazz & Blues Market, New Orleans, LA
Feb 21 Germantown Performing Arts Center, Germantown, TN
Mar 18 Carpenter Performing Arts Center, Long Beach, CA
Mar 19 Carpenter Performing Arts Center, Long Beach, CA
Visit www.kandacesprings.com
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