Soweto Kinch Trio

After a quite brilliant gig here at the Club last year we just had to ask our old friend Soweto Kinch back for another round of fantastic music for this year’s LJF. With his genre-defying combination of technically brilliant, bebop-influenced alto saxophone playing and imaginative, incisive, hip-hop lyricism it’s impossible to pigeonhole his style into any musical category. Growing up in inner city Birmingham he started playing saxophone and clarinet at the age of nine, receiving mentoring from trumpet great Wynton Marsalis in his teens which helped to form his deep appreciation of jazz. With a degree in modern history from Oxford University already under his belt, he has since received multiple accolades for his music, including a Mercury Music Prize nomination for his first album “Conversations With The Unseen”, two UMA Awards and MOBO’s for best Jazz Act in 2003 and 2007. His critically successful 2012 album “The Legend of Mike Smith” drew inspiration from subject matter as diverse as Dante and The Seven Deadly Sins, while also being a multi-platform project combining live performances of hip-hop, dance, jazz and visual art (‘A real tour de force’-Guardian). Appearing with Seweto tonight will be his core touring trio of Nick Jurd on bass and Shaney Forbes on drums, perfectly complementing the eclectic mixture of music he likes to perform. This gig cannot be overstated for its pure quality and fusion of multiple musical genres, and will be a highlight of 2014 for anyone on the pulse of the UK music scene. £20

“…an amazing display of verbal and musical virtuosity from 34-year-old Kinch, who combines the streetwise argot of a lad raised in inner-city Birmingham with the learned references of a bookish man” The Telegraph;
“The trio created a wonderful blend of musical brilliance, wit, showmanship and sheer energy.” London Jazz News