A large crowd packed into The 100 Club on Saturday, a healthy mix of seasoned Jazz aficionados and younger hepcats, all giving a warm welcome to support act Amelie. She entertained the room with clear vocals, a rich tone and a delicate inflection, setting the mood perfectly and neatly paving the way for the eagerly anticipated Joe Webb.

I had only become aware of Webb through the cool pop-up bar Jazz Social, which opens annually during the EFG London Jazz Festival and is ably run by Chris Newstead, himself a fine clarinettist and the organiser of the Watford Jazz Festival. Unfortunately, I missed Webb’s free show there as it was oversubscribed, buoyed by his recent Mercury Music Prize nomination. So this felt like the ideal opportunity to catch him solo, just piano and no trio, and to finally see what all the fuss was about following his appearance on Jools Holland’s New Year’s Hootenanny on the BBC.

Rather than dabbling in Jazz-fusion electronics, Webb folds stride and ragtime into a distinctly modern, contemporary style, all while dressed like a refugee from the late-90s Madchester baggy scene. It is a look that mirrors the breadth of his musical tastes as much as his irreverent approach to genre.

He asks the audience if they are familiar with James P. Johnson, Fats Waller and Art Tatum, and is met with a resounding “yes”, before launching into 'Hamstrings & Hurricanes', a witty nod to Lionel Messi’s Miami spell. Webb’s obsession with football soon resurfaces, first with a reworking of Louis Armstrong’s 'Muskrat Ramble' retitled 'Goalmouth Scramble', and later with an instrumental rendition of 'I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles', dedicated to West Ham’s crucial win over Sunderland earlier in the day.

Yet it is when Webb channels Debussy, rather incongruously inspired by Oasis’s 'Shakermaker', that he truly raises the hairs on the back of the neck. The piece is impressionistic, evocative, and richly atmospheric, making use of unconventional scales, parallel chords, and sensual textures to paint vivid musical pictures.

Amelie returns to the stage to deliver soulful vocals on a cover of Etta James’s 'I’d Rather Go Blind', followed by a wistful instrumental take on The Kinks’ 'Waterloo Sunset'.

This calm soon gives way to the storm, as Webb unleashes a series of jaw-dropping pieces showcasing his breakneck speed and polyrhythmic dexterity. For anyone seeing him live for the first time, it was an absolute joy to behold. A superb addition to the January 100 Club Jazz Festival, and one that thoroughly chased away the January blues.

Review and Photos: Ivan De Mello