The fluidity of heart pours from Yelfris Valdés when he plays trumpet. Valdés can drench you in feelings through the highs and lows of his solos. He moved from Cuba to London five years ago and became integrated into the local jazz and Latin scene seamlessly. Having performed with such...
All posts by Jane Cocklin
Spoken word and popping beats that are held strong by the backbone of cultural heritage. Anthony Joseph is a Trinidadian poet and musician who taps into his roots to create music that blends Afro-Caribbean, free jazz and funk. Joseph will be performing at Notting Hill’s cosy Mau Mau bar to...
In Moholo-Moholo’s words, his body lives in London but his mind in South Africa. The outstanding bandleader and jazz drummer first made a name for himself in the Sixties as part of the legendary Blue Notes. On the first Sunday of September he will be joined by his Six Blokes...
The new summer party courtesy of Gilles Peterson. We Out Here is bringing together a diversity of global rhythms with acts playing soul, jazz, funk, R&B, hip-hop, Afrobeat, disco and electronic music. As is familiar for Gilles, this will be a curiously eclectic mix of styles and you can expect...
Tony Haynes is co-founder and composer for Grand Union Orchestra (GUO), a group of exceptional artists in London making original cross-cultural music. They are a band that celebrate diversity as an emphatic theatrical art form and use music to join prejudicial gaps. After watching an incredibly moving live show from...
Tropical Pressure is in its sixth year of presenting global sounds in a mini WOMAD-in-the-making style, with family themes, vegetarian food, and stages set in a lovely field out of the hustle and bustle of the capital. I decided it would be an amazing place to visit after seeing name...
Five leading females will be coming together for a one-off collaboration at Cadogan Hall for London Saxophone Festival 2019. The show will feature a quintet of astonishing ladies oozing spirit and soul: Carleen Anderson, Terri Walker, YolanDa Brown, Ayanna Witter-Johnson, and Judi Jackson. Soul singer Carleen Anderson was described by...
Helping to kick off the London party season is brand new festival Cross The Tracks. Taking over South London’s Brockwell Park, the stages will be filled with big-name headliners, as well as local jazz, soul and funk acts bringing their up-to-date interpretations with their own modern influences. Virginia ‘Trap House...
It’s been said that many a blues legend has sold their soul to the devil. So, bring a black cat bone and your guitar to the crossroads at Euston Hall for May’s Red Rooster Festival. There will be blues, Americana, gypsy, and rock ‘n’ roll mixed with hints of calypso...
Preview: Benjamin Zephaniah & The Revolutionary Minds @ The Jazz Cafe (London; Friday 17th May 2019)
Benjamin Zephaniah is a man of fierce words, who flexes his musical poeticism by rapping about street politics. With his band, The Revolutionary Minds, he creates dub-reggae protest songs influenced by the music and poetry from Jamaica. Zephaniah is dedicated to bringing a voice to those who are disenfranchised, and...
