Cassie Kinoshi is an award-winning London-based composer, arranger and alto saxophonist known for her work with jazz septet Nérija, Afrobeat band KOKOROKO and her own 10-piece ensemble, SEED.
We supported Cassie’s negotiations with her label jazz re:freshed for the release of SEED’s first album, Driftglass, which led to Cassie’s 2019 Mercury Prize nomination. We connected her to a lawyer and mentored her to identify her manager requirements. During her time on the programme, Cassie was also awarded the Breakthrough Jazz FM 2019 Award, and the Ivor Novello 2019 Award for Best Jazz Composition for Large Ensemble.
Cassie says: “Being able to talk through ideas I have has helped to give me clarity in terms of maximising what I’m doing. The links to the educational side of things are great too.”