Friday, March 16   11:00 p.m.
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  Soweto Kinch - Love Gamble
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Born in London, England on 10th January 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. After meeting Wynton Marsalis four years later he discovered and became passionate about jazz, first concentrating on piano and later, in his teens, focusing on alto saxophone.

His family had a strong artistic influence on him, his father being a playwright and his mother an actress. Having such a theatrical background exposed him to performance and meant that he was often surrounded by musicians and other artists such as jazz tap dancer Will Gaines and percussionist/bebop vocalist Frank Holder.

Soweto is essentially a self-taught musician who has supplemented his musical education by gathering information from books and transcribing jazz recordings. He has also been fortunate to attract the attention of two of the most important jazz luminaries in Britain, saxophonist Courtney Pine OBE and double bassist Gary Crosby, both of whom are now key mentors. In addition to the alto saxophone, Soweto plays soprano, tenor and baritone saxophones, bass clarinet, and piano. He also raps and is competent on the computer, using sequencers such as Cubase, Logic Audio, and Sibelius.

Soweto made the practical decision to become a full time musician fairly recently. Graduating from Oxford University in 1999 with a BA in Modern History, he was set to pursue a career in journalism or to undertake post-graduate studies. However, the offer of 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) and with Crosby's professional bands, Jazz Jamaica and Nu Troop persuaded him to choose music as a career path.

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.

Stylistically, Soweto admires Benny Carter, Charlie Parker and Ornette Coleman primarily for extending the 'voice' of the alto saxophone. He has frequently been compared to Joe Harriot, the virtuoso alto sax player born in the West Indies who worked in Britain during the late 1950s and 60s. He has studied Harriot's work in depth and celebrates the artist's strong cultural and musical diversity.

Whilst Soweto's music is firmly rooted in jazz - drawing equally from swing-era, be-bop and post-bop schools - he also works on projects where he can integrate other musics with jazz. Through his work with Jazz Jamaica he has nurtured a respect and affection for reggae and Jamaican folk music - which can be heard both in his jazz work and his hip hop productions. Outside of jazz he has been deeply influenced by contemporary music, including hip hop/rap inspired by groups such as De La Soul, The Roots and Q Tip.

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. His aim is to move audiences with the simplicity of his band - the Soweto Kinch Trio comprising alto saxophone, double bass and drums - and to discover the breadth of sounds and dynamics he can achieve with these basic elements. The trio came together in 2001 and has already supported Courtney Pine, and performed at the Royal Festival Hall and Cheltenham International Jazz Festival.

Soweto made his first appearance on record in October 2001 as a member of the internationally-acclaimed Jazz Jamaica All Stars, a 20-piece big band blending jazz with reggae, ska and other Caribbean rhythms. The album, MASSIVE (Dune Records) featured a number of notable British jazz musicians, including Gary Crosby, Denys Baptiste, Orphy Robinson, Guy Barker, Andy Sheppard, Annie Whitehead, and Alex Wilson. As well as playing in the horn section on all tracks, the album gave Soweto the opportunity to show his abilities as a soloist (on track 2, My Boy Lollipop) and arranger (on track 7, Vitamin A).

Until June 2002, Soweto organised and was developing an arts/music project in Birmingham (where he now lives) called The Live Box. The project had been running for three years as a weekly jam session and involved Soweto organising special events and workshops for young musicians (aged 6-18). From February-April 2002, Soweto programmed a series of special events to raise the project's profile. These involved jazz saxophonist Steve Williamson, vocalist Eska Mtungwazi and hip hop act, Ty and DJ Biznizz. Sadly, however, The Live Box ceased the jam sessions at the end of June 2002 to enable DJs to take up residence. Nonetheless, Soweto is keen to extend these activities and encourage an interest in jazz, contemporary music and the wider performance arts in the Birmingham region.

July 2002 was a milestone for Soweto in terms of his career. First he won the inaugural White Foundation International Saxophone Competition at the Montreux Jazz Festival, fending off competition from top young players from all over the world, including graduates of Berklee and Manhattan School of Music. His win assured him of shows for his own band in the 2003 Montreux Jazz Festival, the IAJE Annual Festival in Toronto, and at the famed Ronnie Scott's Club, London and Highlights Of Jazz in New York. Hot on the heels of this major award, Soweto picked up the prestigious BBC Radio Jazz Award for Rising Star 2002 and, as a member of Jazz Jamaica All Stars, shared in the glory of the BBC Radio award for Best Band 2002.

Another recording opportunity presented itself in July 2002 when R'n'B/soul-jazz vocalist, Juliet Roberts called Soweto to guest on two tracks on her new album, Beneath The Surface (Dune Records, DUNECD07). A big fan of Soweto, Juliet also booked him for her album tour in October/November 2002. Word began to spread quickly about this amazing rising star and, in March 2003, the great Jamaican guitarist, Ernest Ranglin engaged Soweto to join him, with Mafia and Fluxy, for his Australia/New Zealand tour including four performances at Womad.

When he's not performing or practising, a great deal of Soweto's time is spent composing and arranging material. His trio set consists primarily of his originals compositions, and he is one of the main composers/arrangers for Jazz Jamaica All Stars, Gary Crosby's Nu Troop, and Tomorrow's Warriors. Undoubtedly his parents' affinity to the theatre has rubbed off on him as not only has he written specially commissioned scores for theatre companies but also, in December 2000, he was given a role in a film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, The Cat's Meow (produced in December 2000, released April 2002)!

Additionally, Soweto is pursuing an interest in Theatre. He completed a commission with NITRO Black Theatre Cooperative in November 2001 for whom he composed a score for 'Slamdunk' (performed at The Contact Theatre, Manchester). Similarly, he composed the score for a production in Birmingham, 'Its Just A Name' produced by Nu Century Arts (April 2002) and written by his father Don Kinch. Soweto hopes to continue his work for theatre and is collaborating with Dance Xchange in Birmingham and NITRO on future projects.

At the end of 2002, Soweto began work on his d�but 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�s career as a solo artist. The album won a Mercury Music Prize for An Album Of The Year 2003 and earned him the MOBO Award for Best Jazz Act 2003. Since then, Soweto hasn�t looked back and has been busy touring internationally with his band.

In December 2003, Soweto was announced as the winner of the Peter Whittingham Award for Innovative Jazz Project, thus facilitating the recording of his popular hip hop/rap track, Jazz Planet.

In 2004, Soweto continued international touring and picked up BBC Radio Jazz Awards for Best Band and Best Instrumentalist. The latter award was presented to hiim by the great Wynton Marsalis, who showered glowing praise on the young star. He also invited Soweto to join him on stage to perform with the Marsalis Quartet, a major highlight of the awards event.

In September 2004, Soweto headed off to New York for a three-month sabbatical and to promote the release of his album in the US which released on 7 September to great critical acclaim. In October, Conversations With The Unseen entered the College Music Journal (CMJ) Radio Top 40 Charts at Number 27, rising to Number 21 by 29 October 2004!

Yet another prestigious award came in November 2004, with Soweto winning the Urban Music Award for Best Jazz Act. All categories of these awards were nominated and voted for online by the public and Soweto received a record number of votes!
Soweto�s first ever single (and also the first single ever to be produced by Dune Records), Jazz Planet was released in November 2004. With tongue firmly in cheek, Soweto�s gives his take on what the world would be like if Jazz ruled the planet! Jazz Planet is available on CD (DUNESD001) and vinyl (DUNEVY001).

Rounding off yet another successful and profile-raising year, Soweto performed a enormously successful showcase at The Jazz Gallery in New York�s Manhattan district. The show � performed by Soweto�s own band and featuring labelmate, Abram Wilson on trumpet and vocals � attracted a sold out house that included the presence of his peers (including Ravi Coltrane and veteran master bassist, Henry Grimes), radio and the press; an interview by John Schaefer for his WNYC daytime radio programme, Soundcheck; a major preview article in Time Out New York edition; a major review in JazzWeek, as well as a massive and glowing review by Ben Ratliff in the New York Times most artists can spend a lifetime dreaming about and never receive. It was THE event on the New York City jazz calendar that week and the opinion leaders and taste makers, as well as the general public, were overheard acclaiming the concert as one of the highlights of 2004. And this was backed up in the press with several respected jazz publications, plus The New York Times, The New Yorker, and the editors of amazon.com in the US, placing him in their Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2004.

In 2005, Soweto toured as a member of labelmates, Jazz Jamaica for their new project, Motorcity Roots � a Tamla Motown, Detroit meets Studio 1 in Kingston, Jamaica tribute to the legacy of the Motown label. He also recorded his follow-up project: A Life In The Day of B19This is a truly groundbreaking recording project from this great young artist who has created a major stir on both sides of the Atlantic. His debut album earned acclaim for successfully blending jazz and hip-hop where so many others had failed. This album brings the two genres closer still and highlights Kinch�s incredible talents not only as a jazz player but also as a leading narrative rap artist.

A Life In The Day Of B19 is a two-part tale � Tales Of The Tower Block (DUNECD014), and Basement Fables (DUNECD015) � that follows three fictional characters as they each come to terms with the pitfalls of celebrity; tempestuous, romantic entanglements; and the solitude of the musician�s quest. Traversing jazz, hip-hop and poetry, it weaves a narrative and message of hope through a diverse range of musical worlds. �B19� (the project�s abbreviated name) is an inspired duology that marks a massive upward shift in Soweto�s stature as a significant, major artist. The album features the award-winning BBC News presenter, Moira Stuart; the inimitable and brilliant vocalist, Eska Mtungwazi, and Soweto�s highly charismatic label mate, Abram Wilson amongst a cast of many, underpinned by his award-winning quartet. A Life In The Day Of B19 � Tales Of The Tower Block releases in Autumn 2006 supported by a major tour. Part two of the tale, Basement Fables is scheduled for release in Spring 2007. �Whereas Conversations With The Unseen took hip hop to a jazz audience, B19 aims to take jazz to the hip hop audience� says Soweto. Expect some explosive jazz and inspirational narrative hip hop. B19 confirms what the New York Times had to say about Soweto:

Mr Kinch demonstrates what England has to teach [the USA] about narrative hip-hop. Don�t sleep on Mr Kinch. The New York Times

Soweto�s music and image have always stood side by side on the UK urban and jazz scenes and his profile in both continue to grow rapidly as gains more fans with each tour. In 2006 he has supported US hip hop legend KRS-ONE and performed alongside the cream of UK urban music � Sway, Blak Twang and Ty � as well as running his own night, The Live Box in Birmingham giving local MCs a chance to deliver their lyrics over the house band�s grooves.

As for Soweto as MC, he continues to demonstrate that he is as adept on the microphone as he is blowing his horn. An exclusive show on the BBC�s urban music station, 1Xtra presented by Benji B had him rapping and playing sax in a musical �battle� with saxophonist Jason Yarde, discussing the links between hip hop and jazz and breaking down the stereotypes of jazz music and musicians. He was also featured on a special BBC 1Xtra show presented by Ras Kwame that showcased the burgeoning talent in the West Midlands. Soweto performed alongside the best hip hop, RnB and grime and was interviewed by Ras Kwame.

In June 2006, an amazing opportunity came up for Soweto to travel to Sao Paulo to collaborate with local drum �n�bass stars, Drumagick along with New Zealand producer Mark De Clive Lowe and singer Bembe Segue as part of the Trocabrahma series endorsed by Gilles Peterson. This hugely successful collaboration culminated in a series of major shows in London, Manchester and Edinburgh where Soweto played a freestyle set with Mark, Bembe, Sway, and Dynamite MC and Brazillian star, Seu Jorge.

The reception from radio in the lead-up to the release of Soweto�s new album has been fantastic. With plays on BBC Radio 1 (the leading mainstream urban/pop radio station in the UK) on shows hosted by Gilles Peterson and Ras Kwame, as well as plays on BBC 1xtra, Soweto is boldly going to places no jazz musician has gone before!

Ahead of his B19 album tour, Soweto joins US neo-soul star, Dwele as support on his UK tour, and other similar tours are planned over the coming months.