ESKA MTUNGWAZI
THIS LADY IS NO CANARY
ESKA'S EARLIEST MEMORY of participating in music is the recorder group her elder sister was in at primary school. Eska was never asked to join it herself, but taught herself to read enough music from the recorder books lying about the house to play the recorder at home, then move to violin, cello and eventually piano.
For me there is no sound comparable to choral singing
Eska Mtungwazi
Acting was more important than singing when Eska was younger. She says that she was never nervous in school performances when she was acting ? pretending to be someone else ? but when she sang in public there was no character to hide behind, she had to be herself. And so although it took longer to build up her confidence as a singer, developing her ear and her awareness of how music worked gave a solid technique to build that confidence on.
Eska believes that understanding intonation and pitch on an instrument without frets or fixed notes ? in her case the violin and the cello ? helped her become more sensitive to how to pitch a note and stay in tune as a vocalist. And when she was 18, and the family returned for a visit to her birthplace, Zimbabwe, she realised that family history was another crucial part of her identity as a singer.
Julie Dexter
Vocalist, composer and producer.
Born and raised in Birmingham, England, of Jamaican parents, Julie Dexter is a world-renowned singer / songwriter who has won numerous international awards. A classically trained musician who writes, arranges, composes and produces, Julie is considered by many to be one of the most important female vocalists of her generation. Deeply influenced by legends such as Abbey Lincoln, Billie Holiday and Nancy Wilson, as well as popular icons such as Omar and Sade, Julie takes classic soul to the heart of artistry.
For the past five years Julie Dexter has spent the millenium sharing the stage with this generation's cutting-edge soul artists, including Jill Scott, Bilal, Amel Larrieux, Donnie, Omar, Jaguar, Rachelle Ferrell, and Fertile Ground, to name a few. While Julie Dexter is more than able to hold up against her peers, her music has also been praised by them. In time the world will hold Julie Dexter in the same regards as those stellar artists who regard her well.
Soweto Kinch
Rising star of UK Jazz.
Young, self-taught alto saxophonist proclaimed as British Jazz's great hope. Kinch's debut album Conversations With the Unseen successfully mixed post bop jazz and rap with an ease that few have managed to date. One of the few jazz musicians with a degree in Modern History from Oxford, Kinch's modern musical mentors include Courtney Pine, Denys Baptiste and Gary Crosby. Soweto made his recording debut with Crosby's Jazz Jamaica All Stars. Often compared to the late great altoist Joe Harriott Soweto won the Rising Star Award at the 2002 BBC Jazz Awards and also won the prestigious White Saxophone prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival.
Soweto is also Creative Director of Nu Century Arts' Livebox.