Aisling Iris - Tribute To Monk Featuring Tony Kofi, Jon Gee

Hailing from Co Cork, Ireland, singer/songwriter/jazz artist Aisling (pronounced "Ashling") Iris moved to London over 16 years ago, since when she has become an integral part of the UK music scene. She has hosted or co-hosted regular high profile jam sessions around the capital, was signed to Universal music for over 2 years, fronts jazz quartet Neon Villages who supported jazz funk legend Marcus Miller on his Afrodeezia tour, has toured with UK Hip Hop legend Roots Manuva, Omar and Mercury nominee Eska and has been featured by Jamie Cullum as BBC Introducing Artist on his BBC Radio 2 show. Her vocals featured in the Ridley Scott film Life in a Day and she has performed to packed-out London venues including The Vortex, The Jazz Café and the Shepherds Bush Empire. As a songwriter her work has been described as "a melting pot of soul, jazz and hip hop with a sprinkling of folk, steeped in old school leanings with just the right amount of quirky!" and her debut album " Night Time Moves" was recently released on Bandcamp. However, it's her (very impressive) Jazz hat that Aisling will be wearing tonight as she brings to the Club her acclaimed "Final Frontier Quintet", a band formed in 2016 when Aisling approached saxophonist Tony Kofi with the idea of paying homage to one of modern jazz's greatest composers and musicians, Thelonious Monk. A Monk aficionado Tony recommended fellow Monk enthusiast, pianist Jon Gee and a powerful and musical band of seasoned and creative musicians was born. The repertoire is garnered primarily from the music featured on the iconic 1988 Carmen McRae album "Carmen sings Monk", with these rarely performed lyrical versions of classic Monk compositions demonstrating just how ahead of his time Monk was as a composer. Aisling's pure toned and characterful vocals are the perfect foil for this wonderful material and having already received rave reviews after their appearance at the Birmingham Jazz Festival, this is a powerhouse band that is definitely worth watching out for. Making up the rhythm section this evening will be two highly regarded stalwarts of the UK jazz scene, Ben Hazleton on bass and Clark Tracey on drums. Highly recommended.

"Irish singer Aisling Iris followed with a superb new collaboration with saxophonist Tony Kofi.... Iris’s voice was a revelation: her control over the whole range is immaculate, her expression powerful, and her feel for the essential elements of Monk’s music quite extraordinary" thejazzbreakfast;“passionate…superb…heartfelt” Guardian; “There is so much respect in jazz circles for Tony Kofi.” Jazzwise