Can you believe it’s been nine years since Abram passed? I can’t, though I probably say that every year. It’s funny how much the world has changed since then and even more so how much it’s changed in just over a year.
Photo credit: Fabjola Biraci We’re roaring into the twenties with an exciting gig announcement! Pianist Yohan Kebede – who plays keys with jazz afrobeat ensemble Kokoroko – kicks off our 2020 programme with an exclusive event next month. He took a moment out for a chat. Jennie: Happy New Year! 2019 was a massive one…
Do you remember our innovative Future Sound project last Autumn? Talented Afrobeat jazz band KOKOROKO came together with promising young musicians at Mossbourne Community Academy in a series of exciting school workshops. The collaboration culminated in a performance at award-winning jazz venue Church of Sound, showcasing the band’s music and new compositions in front of…
Last Autumn we brought together young people at Mossbourne Community Academy in Hackney, afrobeat-jazz band Kokoroko and jazz venue Church of Sound in a unique collaboration called Future Sound. Six months on, I caught up with the school’s head of music, Sophie Sayer [pictured, left of photo] to talk more about music’s transformative power. Jennie:…
Richie Seivwright is an awesome trombone player, vocalist and composer who features as our next Late Night Jazz showcase artist at h Club London on 27th March. With KOKOROKO Richie helped lead our recent Future Sound project and the band has just released its debut EP. I caught up with her in exciting times! Jennie:…
Read more Richie Seivwright on sounds, influences & KOKOROKO’s new EP
📷: Edwin Louis Our super exciting Late Night Jazz series kicks off for 2019 next week, showcasing some of London’s most talented rising stars at the exclusive Hospital Club London. Ahead of his first ever solo gig, I caught up with KOKOROKO pianist, Yohan Kebede. Jennie: You recently graduated from the London College of Contemporary…
Read more ‘The future is bright!’ KOKOROKO’s Yohan Kebede is on a musical journey
Hot off the back of celebrations for ‘Abusey Junction’ winning ‘Track of the Year, 2018’ at Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide FM awards last week, I caught up with KOKOROKO band leader and trumpet-player Sheila Maurice-Grey. Sheila’s one of the super-talented musicians selected for our career development programme, plus a dedicated schools workshop leader and accomplished visual…
Read more ‘There is power in knowledge’: meet Sheila Maurice-Grey
📷 Kathy Stocker A Hackney church reimagined as a music venue – winning a 2017 Jazz FM Award for Best Live Experience of the Year – AWF Associate Artist, Church of Sound has reclaimed a vital community space. Its co-founder and latest member of our career development programme, Spencer Martin, is getting ready for a gig like no other…
Read more ‘No holds barred’: how Church of Sound’s bringing afrobeat and jazz to a new generation
Our newest Late Night Jazz showcase events kick off again later this month at The Hospital Club in Covent Garden, yay! So I caught up with London-based drummer Ayo Salawu who plays our first gig of the series on 26th September. Ayo drums with Kokoroko, Oscar Jerome and Julia Biel and is fast making his name…
Read more How an international childhood inspired my fusion style – Ayo Salawu
We’re delighted to announce an exciting new and exceptional collaboration with two of our faves: up-and-coming Afrobeat-jazz band Kokoroko and award-winning jazz promoters and AWF Associate Artists Church of Sound! Thanks to generous grants worth £17,000 from PRS Foundation and Arts Council England we’ll be presenting Sunday School. This new project will blend Church of…