Deep funk legend Lee Fields took centre stage at Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards bash on Saturday night and gave the evening, held at Highbury Corner's Garage in the middle of the Radio One DJ's stamping ground, the love injection the audience had long been aching for.

New Yorker Fields - the late James Brown's doppelgänger in both appearance and voice - grabbed the microphone at 1am and whipped the full-house into a swooning stupor with his buttered lament Honey Dove. The crowd swayed to the diminutive funkster's belted-out lyrics and the mournful chords found by his band, the Expressions. For the first time in the night, all eyes were locked on the main stage.

Up until then, while having the typical friendly, über cool vibe that follows Peterson like a finger-clicking shadow, jumbled proceedings had caused focus to wander. With a dozen cherry-picked performers, some eked out in the past year thanks to the BBC maestro, scattered upstairs and down, the groovers were spoiled for choice; so much so it was uncomfortable.

With certain musicians wading over their allotted time, one would be torn between seeing a set conclude while itching to move to the other floor, fuelled by the fear of missing out. To take in all the acts on offer, the staircase proved the place where most shoes were dancing, and it was hard not to feel a mite unsatisfied.

The billing - of course - read like a veritable who's who of pioneering artists. Jazz pianist Robert Glasper, noted for collaborating with Q-Tip, Mos Def and J Dilla, showed why his third solo offering, Double Booked, won Jazz Album of the Year 2010.

Glasper, from Houston, Texas, explained that his drummer had not caught his flight across the Atlantic before introducing "Joseph", who couldn't hide his glee. "I only met this guy today," Glasper said apologetically before making his fingers end the awkward silence. As it happened Joseph proved an adequate deputy to absent stickman Chris Dave, but his hammered solo, all flashing grin and blurred arms, failed to mask the lack of real polish.

Strolling upstairs I found stunning Cuban Danay Suarez Fernandez, who recently featured on Peterson's Havana Cultura project, rapping out her songs to a room only a quarter full. There was no doubting her unique voice - which can swing from lovingly seductive to cover-your-balls forceful in one blink of her long eyelashes - but it was again evident that, in addition to the sporadic whistling feedback, the slung-together band who accompanied Daney detracted from her performance. It was toe-curling to watch her have to be prompted as she called out her unfamiliar band members' names.

As the clock hands neared midnight, back downstairs New York's Theophilus London, all wiry, shuffling limbs and shouty rap, tried to pick up the pace. He departed having followed up his interesting electro-hop hit Cold Pillow with an ill-advised Whitney Houston number.

Then, as we waited patiently - and with nothing of note stirring above - the Expressions held off starting as the delayed Fields rushed to the east London venue. Eventually they kicked in, and Fields joined them in their third tune to save the day. The evening snaked on until dawn with SBTRKT & Sampha and Darkstar sinking into dubstep, though many had left earlier, following Fields's show-stealing efforts.

Whispers that absent Lifetime Achievement award-winner, Gil Scott-Heron, has agreed to perform at the Worldwide Festival in the south of France cheered most and helped numb the feeling of an under-cooked night. But those faithful Peterson disciples who are headed to Sète in July will have left the Garage hoping for a more smoothly run event.

Here are the WWA winners in full:

Track of the Year 2010
1. Joy Orbison – Hyph Mngo [Hot Flush]
2. Floating Points – Vacuum Boogie [Eglo]
3. Zed Bias feat. Tawiah – Further Away [CDR]
4. Shafiq Husayn feat. Fatima – Lil' Girl [Plug Research]
5. Darkstar – Aidy's Girl Is A Computer [Hyperdub]

Album of the Year 2010
1. Mulatu Astatke & The Heliocentrics – Inspiration Information Vol. 3 [Strut]
2. Martyn – Great Lengths [3024]
3. Lee Fields – My World [Truth & Soul]
4. Quantic and his Combo Bárbaro – Tradition in Transition [Tru Thoughts]
5. Mos Def – The Ecstatic [Downtown]

Jazz Album of the Year 2010
1. Robert Glasper – Double Booked [Blue Note]
2. Matthew Halsall – Colour Yes [Gondwana]
3. Carlos Niño & Miguel Atwood Ferguson – Suite For Ma Dukes [Stones Throw]
4. Harry Whitaker – Thoughts (Past and Present) [Smalls Records]
5. Build An Ark – LOVE Part 1 [Kindred Spirits]

Maida Vale Session of the Year 2010
Floating Points Ensemble

John Peel Play More Jazz Award 2010
Four Tet

Lifetime Achievement Award 2010
Gil Scott-Heron

Words: Oliver Pickup

 

Related Links:

• Review: Sunday Afternoons At Dingwalls
• Review: Gilles Peterson Worldwide Festival
• Review: Brownswood Xmas Party @ XOYO
• Fizzy Celebrate Their 5th Birthday
• Review: Flying Lotus Live At Koko

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