Anthony Joseph & The Spasm Band

Trinidadian poet, and musician Anthony Joseph with The Spasm Band

Anthony Joseph is a Trinidadian born poet, novelist, academic and musician who has been described as ‘the leader of the black avant-garde in Britain’, fusing calypso rhythms with a post-modern sensibility. In 2004 he was chosen by the Arts Council as one of 50 black and Asian writers who have made major contributions to contemporary British literature, appearing in the historic ‘Great Day’ photograph taken at the British Library. He performs internationally solo and with his Jazz quartet The Spasm Band

The band's musical influences include Free Jazz, Afro-Caribbean funk, spoken word, soca,rapso, Calypso, Rock and the hypnotic Spiritual Baptist rhythms that were prominent in Joseph's childhood in Trinidad. The most recent Spasm Band album "Bird Head Son" was released in February 2009 by Naive/Heavenly Sweetness. As with their previous album, this album is also accompanied by a new literary work; Joseph's 3rd collection of poetry, also entitled Bird Head Son which is published by Salt Publishing in February 2009 to coincide with the UK release of the album. It includes lyrics from the album. The Bird Head Son Tour commenced in December 2008 at Rennes, France and will continue throughout 2009.

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Aquino-Casarano “Strike”

Aquino, trumpeter from Benevento, and Casarano, sax player from Salento

STRIKE is the Mediterranean sound chasing North-European horizons, it is Oslo kissed by Italian sun, it is the union between Sannio and Salento, it is the idea of jumping right into Scandinavian hues repainted with Italian brushes, dipping in an admirable tradition. Aquino, trumpeter from Benevento, and Casarano, sax player from Salento, blend their original, personal and already mature instrument voice with electronic equipments such as loop stations, multi-effects and rhythm loops. The duet, inspired by the late Miles’ teaching, gives life to original pieces full of pathos and tenderness, but not lacking unpredictable impetuous peaks of volcanic energy, thus creating a music style far from conventional patterns.

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CHIMA ANYA

The Doctor who raps

rapper Chima Anya is tearing up the UK scene at the moment with his new collaboration ‘It’s The Manner’ that features the legendary Jehst and his new track ‘New Day’ featuring Soweto Kinch. He is a talented MC and talent belongs on Rago, so Tricksta done the right thing.

Chima Says;

"A massive big up to each and every DJ who has played my shit in ANY medium and that includes showing their mate, not because radio 1 played it, not cause the video looks banging, not cause some other DJ played it, not cause it's popular at the moment, not because they thought hudson mohawke produced it, but because they heard it and recognised the quality."

And would you believe that by day Chima’s really is a the medical doctor? Hol’ tight Doc, pimp nurses and push that penicillin.

 

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Corey Mwamba

Unassumingly virtuosic performer

 Mwamba, himself an unassumingly virtuosic performer with one of the subtlest touches imaginable, has remarked on his partner's underrated status, '

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David Grey

Greyish Quartet

David Grey musical influences ranges through Hip-Hop, Electronica, classical and Jazz.  Live Box regulars would have seen him on Keyboards as part of the Live Box Crew for Battle in The Box as well as backing many of the international artists.  You now have a second chance to catch him at the Live Box with his own group.

Greyish Quartet was formed in Birmingham during early 2008. The group along with David Grey (piano), comprises some of the most gifted young musicians in Birmingham, Amy Fletcher (woodwind), Nick Jurd (double bass) & Jim Bashford (drums).The band have just recorded of their debut album, "Hummingbird Hill" and is now working on their latest project entitled 'The Dark Red Room', which incorporates visual media, new compositional techniques and instrumentation.

Tonight You can expect to hear twisted, heavy grooves, beautiful harmonies and dazzling solo improvisation.

 

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Deodata Siquir

A drummer and a vocalist from Mozambique

Deodato Siquir is a leading light in African Jazz. A drummer and a vocalist from Mozambique, Deodato moved to Scandinavia at the age of 26 and established himself on the jazz and world music scene.

Through Siquirs swinging compositions, with lyrics in a mix of Portuguese, English and Ronga, you will be taken on a musical journey around the world. Mozambican rhythms are mixed with cool Scandinavian Jazz, played expertly by the band leader and Danish guitarist Preben Carlsen and Polish bass player Andrzej Krejniuk (both are educated from the Copenhagen Rhythm Conservatory).

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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.

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Gemma Weeks

Singer-Poet and musician

Singer-Poet and musician Gemma Weekes reads from her recently released, incredibly successful first novel, ‘Love Me’. 

Born in the East End of London in 1978, Gemma Weekes has lived in England and St Lucia. Gemma has featured on BBC Radio 3’s the Verb, has read her poetry on ITV, and has performed live with Cody Chesnutt (playing his guitar)

supporting the Black Eyed Peas at the Jazz Café.

 

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Homecut

A dynamic seven piece touring band

A dynamic seven piece touring band, Homecut bring a fresh blend of critically acclaimed hip-hop, soul, jazz and sonic experimentation. The brainchild of emcee and producer Testament, the Homecut sound breaks the stereotypes that surround rap, and navigates a social and spiritual commentary on everyday British life. “A stand-alone classic that deserves celebration” 

ALBUM OF THE WEEK

- Metro

 

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Jason McDougal

The youngest cut from the oldest cloth

The man behind the haunting lead male voice in Not Quite Gospel takes centre stage with a group of local musicians. Jason is an eclectic artist whose inspiration range from Ray Charles, to Chet Baker to John Legend.. He is also a scat artist taking notes from the books of Ella Fitzgerald and Bobby McFerrin.  His funky jazzy soul style is an ever -evolving sound that continues to seduce audiences

 

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Jay Phelps

“Jay Phelps' debt to the "speaking" quality of Wynton Marsalis's trumpet playing is evident….”

Jay Phelps:

 

Jay Phelps is a Vancouver-born Canadian.  He performed for two years with the award-winning Surrey Youth Symphony Orchestra where he picked up a best soloist award.  He became the youngest artist to lead his own band at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, a feat he repeated the following year amidst much media attention.  At 17 Jay moved to London determined to immerse himself in the London jazz scene and immediately attracted the notice of Gary Crosby who offered him work with Jazz Jamaica, Nu Troop and, in 2002, the opportunity to be a Tomorrow’s Warrior. 

Citing Louis Armstrong, Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown and Miles Davis as his main influences, Jay, a student at Trinity College of Music, Formally Co-leader of the new hit jazz sensation Empirical and a featured member of Dennis Rollins’ Badbone & Co, has performed with Andrew Hill, Wynton Marsalis, Ray Brown, John Hendricks, Nasheet Waits, George Benson, Jamie Cullum, Sir John Dankworth, Guy Barker, Amy Winehouse, Charlotte Church, Hugh Masakela and Jazz Jamaica..  In recent months Jay has recorded and toured with the sensational SkaCubano which features Cuba’s finest exports, and has put together an outfit under his own name. 

The Jay Phelps Quintet.  The band is dedicated to swinging in any climate from the more contemporary to the traditional.

The members include:

Shabaka Hutchins- Tenor Sax, Clarinet, Bass clarinet

Jonathan Gee- Piano

Karl Rasheed-Abel- Double Bass

Gene Calderazzo- Drums

 

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Jazz Alive

Nurturing Raw talent

Jazz Alive features London's rising Jazz stars.  This project created by Clive Powell nurtures the raw talent of its young members by placing them under the tutorship of established and experienced musicians and teachers. This programme was developed and led by Soweto Kinch and Orphy Robinson, two of Britain's musical giants

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Judy's House

Mixing jazz, soul and gospel, local band

Mixing jazz, soul and gospel, local band judyshouse brings to The Live Box a unique and stunning set of original and inspirational songs. Formed this year, by the talented composer and performer Laura Douglas and her band, and building on a growing local following and reputation, judyshouse brings you some of the very best up-and-coming musical talent in Birmingham. Expect a vocal and keyboard based sound, driving rhythm and faith-inspired lyrics. Above all else, expect a great time!"

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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.

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Michael Olatuja

British/Nigerian bassist

British/Nigerian bassist Michael Olatuja debuts his vision as producer, composer, arranger and performer on Speak. The album features musical influences and guests from each spot Olatuja has hit around the globe, including his childhood in London and Lagos, Nigeria, and professional years in London and New York  

 

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Patrick Neate

Novelist, critic, scriptwriter and poet

Patrick Neate is a respected novelist, critic, scriptwriter and poet. His work has been published in most major UK newspapers and magazines, widely anthologised and broadcast on radio and television.

He is the author of four novels and one book of non-fiction. His novels are: Musungu Jim and the Great Chief Tuloko (2000), winner of a Betty Trask Award; Twelve Bar Blues (2001), winner of the 2001 Whitbread Novel Award; The London Pigeon Wars (2003); and City of Tiny Lights (2005), shortlisted for a 2007 Edgar Award. His non-fiction book, an analysis of hip-hop, is Where You’re At: Notes from the Frontline of a Hip-Hop Planet (2003), winner of the 2004 National Book Critics' Circle Award (USA).

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Robert Mitchell

One of the best pianists in Britain today

Pianist Robert Mitchell in duo mode is always rewarding; his particular gift – a breathtaking delicacy and precision allied with one of the most fecund musical imaginations you'll ever hear in action – shines in the collaboration with vibes player Corey Mwamba. Mwamba, himself an unassumingly virtuosic performer with one of the subtlest touches imaginable, has remarked on his partner's underrated status, 'Robert Mitchell is one of the best pianists in Britain today.' Amen to that.

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Soweto Kinch

Rising star of UK jazz Born in London, England in 1978 to a Barbadian father and British-Jamaican mother, multi award winning Soweto Kinch is one of the most exciting and versatile young musicians to hit the British jazz scene in recent years. Kinch has succesfully woven post-bop jazz and rap to near universal acclaim. He twice won the MOBO award for best jazz act plus a hosts of other plaudits including a mercury prize nomination for his debut album Conversations With The Unseen. Kinch is a rare beast in British Jazz- a fervent disciple of Hip-Hop who, at the same time, is a master of the Jazz idiom- both disciplines that he appears determined to bridge. On stage and on he is a confident, electrifying modern day hipster. Off stage and on record the Oxford University graduate brings intellectual heft to his musical passions, refusing to seperate the music from the social realities that gave it birth. his second album A Life In The Day of B19-Tales Of The Tower Block examines the lived experiences of three Birmingham men. This extremeely gifted artist and cohort of Jazz Royalty Wynton Marsalis and Courtney Pine is also the Creative Director and Host of the Live Box.

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Sparlha Swa

A singer-songwriter born in Kingston

Sparlha Swa, a singer-songwriter born in Kingston, Jamaica, is making incredible strides in her career in music.  A life-long vocalist and flourishing composer, Sparlha scored the multi-award-winning short Pariah (Offical Sundance Selection 2008), has had her music licensed to both TV and Film (Girlfriends 2006, Motives 2, 2007). She has released three albums, landing a distribution deal in Japan in 2006 for her debut album In The Distance, and has toured independently with just her guitar to cities as far reaching as Toronto, London, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Paris, Honolulu, and to cities across the US. Last summer and fall Sparlha played a lead role in Fela!, an Off Broadway musical directed and choreographed by world renowned choreographer Bill T. Jones. She is currently living and working on a new album in Brooklyn, NY.

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Speech Debelle

(Mercury Music Award winner 2009)

Speech Debelle raps with complete intimacy, as if only addressing one person. Her debut album Speech Therapy, produced by regular Roots Manuva collaborator Wayne Lotek, is both intimate and epic, moving back and forth between the personal and political, the mundane and the spiritual. At the age of twenty-five her fragile voice can make her sound like a teenager, but she’s packed in enough experience to last most people forever: from reflections on hostel life and the hustles involved in getting by on the South London streets, to funny incidents and sharp observations. “Daddy’s Little Girl” is a scathing attack on an absent father held together by organ and dub bass. “Bad Boy” looks unflinchingly but also non-judgementally at the attitudes and outlooks of the yout’s Speech grew up knowing. “Buddy Love” is a funny, bouncing look at what happens when you start shagging your mate. 
“Sensational” – Sunday Times 
“Potent, precious, poignant. The artist Lily Allen could only dream of being” – DJ 
“A superstar in the making” – Update [single of the week] 
“Like no hip hop record you’ve ever heard” – Dazed & Confused 
“Urban decay recast as a brooding short film, flooded with poetry and honest emotional toil” – iDJ 

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TAN

Tan and The Government

 TAN who will make her first UK appearance performing with 'The Government' an eclectic live Swedish band and 'Confidence Soulful' a well known jazzy MC from Stockholm city. Tan is the MTV award winning director of F.T.C.'s music video 'CarToon Characters' She toured Europe with M.O.P., Terminology and Rex in Autum 2009 and is scheduled to rock the bells of Europe promoting her album 'Show Me The World' in 2010.  Tan is also a scriptwriter whose play “Carnival” will be performed at the drum Arts Centre in April as part of a collaboration between Nu century Arts and the Drum’s Young Gifted and Brum project.  Her  musical output drifts between a fusion of reggae roots, indie, rock and refreshing hip hop styles. A vibe that you can't help but smile and nod your head to.

 

 

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