2008 SEASON

Friday 13 June: SOWETO KINCH QUARTET

SPECIAL PREVIEW GIG FOR NEW ALBUM: Basement Fables... DON'T MISS THIS UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE FULL BAND WITH PROJECTIONS IN AN INTIMATE SPACE (LIGHTHOUSE STUDIO)

'A distinct and commanding way of looking at jazz, at hip hop, and at the whole performance situation. Mr Kinch demonstrates what England has to teach us about narrative hip hop [and] has one of the best sounding new jazz groups Ive heard lately. Dont sleep on Mr Kinch.' The New York Times

"One of the most exciting new voices in British jazz boiling the mix from straightahead to hip-hop with a fresh precocious creativity."
Echoes

"One of the best and most original British jazz albums ever made." Jazzwise magazine

MOBO Awards: Best Jazz Act 2003 & 2007

British Jazz Awards: Best Saxophonist 2007

Urban Music Awards: Best Jazz Act 2004 & 2006

BBC Jazz Awards: Best Instrumentalist & Best Band 2004

Peter Whittingham Award: Jazz Innovation 2004

Mercury Music Prize: An Album Of The Year 2003

BBC Jazz Awards: Rising Star 2002

White Foundation International Sax Competition/
Montreux Jazz Festival: International Young Saxophonist Of The Year 2002

Please note this gig is in the Studio at Lighthouse, Poole's Centre for the Arts

Lighthouse, Poole's Centre for the Arts
Kingland Road
Poole BH15 1UG

ADVANCE TICKETS: 0844 4068666

Buy tickets online by clicking here

A huge coup for the Club, BMJC is proud to present a unique opportunity to see Soweto Kinch's full band in the intimate setting of Lighthouse's studio space. SK will be previewing his fantastic new album, Basement Fables. Capacity is only 120 in Lighthouse's Studio so you are advised to book early!

Born in London, England in 1978 to a Barbadian father and British-Jamaican mother, Soweto Kinch is one of the most exciting and versatile young musicians to hit the British jazz scene in recent years. He first became interested in music at the tender age of eight, playing clarinet at primary school. He quickly developed a fondness for the alto saxophone and was given his first instrument when he was nine.

He obtained a degree in Modern History from Hertford College, University of Oxford in 1999, but decided to abandon further formal studies in favour of a jazz education after being offered a place within the core band of Tomorrow's Warriors (the development programme established by Gary Crosby in 1991 to nurture and develop talented young jazz musicians). As well as Crosby, Kinch's mentors include Courtney Pine and Denys Baptiste, and he made his recording debut - both as a performer and an arranger - with Crosby's Jazz Jamaica All Stars on their 2001 album, MASSIVE, which includes his own arrangement of jazz standard 'Vitamin A'.

Soweto's musical influences are as broad as they are diverse. He particularly admires Sonny Rollins for his innovative style and successful appropriation of West Indian music within the jazz canon. Most recently, Soweto has been influenced by baroque and early classical music due to an interest he has in the 17th and 18th century black population of Britain. He is keen to reconstruct the African and classical influences that this community would have had.

As an alto player, Soweto is rapidly developing his own sound which is rich, energetic and dynamic and though he clearly has a strong respect for tradition, he is continually exploring his jazz inheritance. In 2001 he established the Soweto Kinch Trio - with bassist Michael Olatuja and drummer Troy Miller, both exceptional young players - which supported Courtney Pine at the former Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, Birmingham and performed at the Royal Festival Hall and Cheltenham International Jazz Festival. His aim with the Trio was to move audiences with the simplicity of his band and to discover the breadth of sounds and dynamics he could achieve with these basic elements. At the end of 2002, Soweto began work on his début album, extending his band to quartet status with the addition of guitar (Femi Temowo). Working with Dune producer, Jason Yarde also a brilliant alto sax player, composer and arranger, and leader of J-Life he created a stunning album which brings together his love of jazz and hip-hop. On Conversations With The Unseen (Dune Records, DUNECD08), he brings Charlie Parker and Q-Tip into the zone, combining straightahead jazz with funky hip-hop and rap vocals. Conversations With The Unseen was released on Dune Records in April 2003 and launched Soweto on his career as a solo artist, winning a Mercury Music Prize for An Album Of The Year 2003, and earning him the MOBO Award for Best Jazz Act 2003.

In 2006, Kinch released his second album, "A Life In The Day Of B19 - Tales Of The Tower Block", to further acclaim. The first instalment of a two-part concept album documenting the lives of three inner-city Birmingham men, the album features narration from Moira Stuart. The follow up, Basement Fables, has been held up by distribution wrangles but an end is in sight! Hence this fantastic preview gig - his only South Coast date. Don't miss and book early!