May 6, 2025 12:00 AM
Knats: From Newcastle with Lotsa Love
Let’s get one thing perfectly clear: Though Knats currently live in London, they do not play London jazz. They’re…
“We’re part of the British jazz scene, but we don’t play London jazz,” says Knats bassist Stan Woodward. “We play Newcastle jazz.”
May 6, 2025 12:00 AM
Let’s get one thing perfectly clear: Though Knats currently live in London, they do not play London jazz. They’re…
Meshell Ndegeocello performed a powerhouse set at north London’s KOKO theater.
Dec 3, 2024 1:02 PM
Every November for the past 32 years, London has transformed itself into a haven for improvisers. Over 10 days, venues…
“I really want to provide a positive example for other women coming up in music,” says saxophonist Nubya Garcia.
Oct 29, 2024 12:50 PM
Nubya Garcia is feeling more free than ever before. Spending much of 2023 and 2024 taking a break from her previous…
Nduduzo Makhathini leads a focus on South Africa at the EFG London Jazz Festival.
Oct 29, 2024 12:48 PM
Back for a triumphant 32nd edition and boasting over 350 gigs across 10 days of programming, the EFG London Jazz…
“It’s like my memoir as a picture painted in sound,” Lewis explains of his growing body of work.
Sep 10, 2024 12:46 PM
It has been just over a year since this writer last spoke to saxophonist and composer James Brandon Lewis for the cover…
“My dad is always going to be a part of me and my music, especially since I still have so many manuscripts of his to explore,” says Johnathan Blake, who notes that he too has much more to explore.
Jan 31, 2024 3:31 PM
For Johnathan Blake, every record is an act of remembrance. Over the past two decades, the Philadelphia-born and New…
An opening-weekend high point came in the form of Chicago drummer Makaya McCraven’s show at the Barbican with the London Contemporary Orchestra.
Dec 5, 2023 1:58 PM
The EFG London Jazz Festival and the show keeps on getting bigger and bigger. This year’s 31st edition, which took…
“This album is every little thing about Warren Wolf that I’ve been trying to do for almost 40 years,” says Wolf of Chano Pozo: Origins.
Sep 19, 2023 1:55 PM
Warren Wolf is determined to do it all. More than 20 years into his career as a vibraphonist, drummer and composer, the…
Lewis said that performing live is “an act of vulnerability since playing a show is being in the moment forever.”
Jul 5, 2023 3:06 PM
“I’m constantly searching and pushing,” New York-based saxophonist and composer James Brandon Lewis says. “I…
Leeds, England-based alto saxophonist Jasmine Myra, far right, led an expansive six-piece group for her festival debut.
Apr 25, 2023 1:09 PM
East London’s Brick Lane is best known for its historic South Asian community and the slew of Indian and Pakistani…
Tenor saxophonist Binker Golding produced an unexpected new sound with some of London’s finest young players.
Nov 29, 2022 11:46 AM
Over the past 30 years, U.K. jazz has taken on multiple, ever-changing guises. From the genre-spanning fusions of the…
Shabaka Hutchings performs a July 3 set with Sons of Kemet and Nubya Garcia at England’s Love Supreme festival.
Sep 13, 2022 3:33 PM
Following two years of cancellations, Britain’s only outdoor jazz festival triumphantly returned July 1–3 for a…
Harpist Alina Bzhezhinska, one of 15 European artists DownBeat critics selected as must-hear music.
Jul 12, 2022 2:56 PM
Many of us at DownBeat have found ourselves stuck at home lately, wondering what’s happening elsewhere — especially…
“We’re sacrificing our bodies to innate feeling and becoming vessels for this music,” Wilkins says.
Mar 29, 2022 2:21 PM
“My work is the intersection between spiritual practice and Black aesthetics,” Immanuel Wilkins says. “The two…
Myele Manzanza
Nov 30, 2021 1:16 PM
Over the past five years, London has established itself as the epicentre for a unique approach to improvised music.…
Bassist Harish Raghavan steps out with his first leader date, Calls For Action.
Nov 5, 2019 9:26 PM
It seems obvious to say that a bass player’s sound would be a deep one. But there is a real darkness to Harish…
Mark Kavuma’s sophomore album, The Banger Factory, places him at the center of London’s rapidly expanding jazz scene.
Oct 21, 2019 9:34 AM
Great art can emerge from any residency. A staple of jazz through the decades—from Ornette Coleman’s 1959 series at…
Los Angeles-based vocalist Dwight Trible connected with London’s Gearbox Records to release his latest album, Mothership.
Aug 1, 2019 10:30 PM
Stationed behind an unassuming brick facade is the home of the label and analog mastering studio that has helped lead…
Kit Downes’ Obsidian has taken the keyboardist’s career full-circle.
Jul 22, 2019 9:13 AM
Kit Downes has spent the past decade establishing himself as one of the U.K. jazz scene’s foremost talents on…
Since the 1980s, London-based DJ and record label founder Gilles Peterson has been a force in music. The first installment of his We Our Here festival is set to run Aug. 15–18 in Abbots Ripton, Cambridgeshire, U.K.
Jun 11, 2019 4:31 PM
Being a curator has become a defining ethos for the 21st century. With digital platforms bombarding us with choice, a…
Mark de Clive-Lowe was raised in New Zealand playing piano, moved to the UK during the 1990s and pursued electronic music before moving to Los Angeles and working around the edges of jazz.
Feb 18, 2019 9:42 AM
It’s hard to pin down Mark de Clive-Lowe.
Born in New Zealand, where he developed a love for jazz through his…
Melbourne, Australia-based pianist Andrea Keller recently issued a pair of recordings: an exploration of Krzysztof Komeda’s work and Five Below Live.
Dec 27, 2018 9:45 AM
Melbourne, Australia-based pianist Andrea Keller creates jazz in its broadest sense—as an improvised music. During…
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