Les Nubians Romance the Crowd With Warm Offerings of Jazzy Soul

“How many of you love jazz music?” It was a question with a simple answer for the crowd gathered at the House of Blues on Thursday for a performance by Les Nubians. And singer Helene Faussart greeted the cheers with a knowing smile.

She wasn’t talking about the challenging likes of Coltrane. She and her sister, Celia, make music that is often dreamy and romantic, fusing jazz, pop and soul into a warm and inviting whole. On Thursday, Les Nubians were sophisticated and down-to-earth hosts, making an easy connection with the sold-out crowd whether singing in French or English.

Born in Bordeaux to a Cameroonian mother and a French father, the Faussart sisters craft their own blend of jazzy soul infused with world beats and hip-hop samples on their new “Princesses Nubiennes” album. Their five-man band performed the loose funk of such songs as “Tabou” while the sisters swayed in long skirts behind their microphones.

At mid-set, the singers stepped off stage for a wardrobe change as the players dived into a long instrumental wind-out that began around a Beastie Boys sample. The rest was energetic, contemporary fusion that sorely missed the presence of the singers, who inevitably made the ensemble more human and organic upon their return.

That was never more true than during an encore that included a rousing take on Stevie Wonder’s “Master Blaster,” connecting Les Nubians not only to jazz but an equally worthy legacy of pop and soul.