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Jazz Articles about Tony Kofi
Electric Gumbo: It's On!
by Neil Duggan
Best known as the bassist and founder of the popular jazz quartet Sharp Little Bones, Simon Paterson found that not all of his compositions were suitable for that small band format and needed a more expansive outlet. He achieves this with Electric Gumbo, a winning combination of established musicians and rising talents who form a 17-member collective, all hailing from the East Midlands of the UK. “This project allows me to push the boundaries of both acoustic orchestration ...
Continue ReadingMyra Brownbridge: The Voyage Out
by Konstantin Rega
First albums are not the end-all-be-all, but they certainly count for something. London bassist Myra Brownbridge crafts a strong debut that shows a younger musician with spirit and intuition. The Voyage Out delivers softer melodies that still have a groove to them. With guitarist Tom Ollendorff, George Garford on alto sax and Matthew Holmes on drums, the quartet plays together with ease. Striking the right balance between instrumental solos, providing a clear tune to follow and a variety in compositional ...
Continue ReadingAlina Bzhezhinska & Tony Kofi: Altera Vita
by Chris May
Harpist Alina Bzhezhinska and saxophonist Tony Kofi's musical partnership began in 2015 and two years later made the main stage of the London Jazz Festival, opening the bill of A Concert For Alice And John at the Barbican concert hall. Also appearing, saxophonist Denys Baptiste's quartet and, top of the bill, Pharoah Sanders' quartet. It was a magical night. It would be an exaggeration to say that the relatively unknown Bzhezhinska stole the show (Sanders did that with the standard ...
Continue ReadingIan Shaw & Tony Kofi: An Adventurous Dream (At PizzaExpress Live In London)
by Chris May
The trouble with live albums recorded in venues that are, essentially, eateries, is that the musicians may have to go large to grab the audience's attention, sometimes too large for the material which they are performing. This is abundantly the case with An Adventurous Dream (At PizzaExpress Live In London): The Music Of Billy Strayhorn And Duke Ellington, co-headlined by vocalist Ian Shaw and alto saxophonist Tony Kofi, accompanied by pianist Barry Green and bassist Dave Green. The ...
Continue ReadingTony Kofi Quartet: Plays Monk
by Chris May
When it was first released in autumn 2004, Tony Kofi's Plays Monk: All Is Know (as it was then titled) was the saxophonist's first release as leader, a full thirteen years after his emergence with high-profile young Turks the Jazz Warriors. The album went on to win the BBC Jazz Awards Album Of The Year prize. To celebrate its approximate twentieth anniversary, Plays Monk has been released for the first time on vinyl, as a double album, alongside the rereleased ...
Continue ReadingAlina Bzhezhinska & HipHarpCollective: Reflections
by Chris May
In an inspired piece of programming, London's Barbican Centre presented the then virtually unknown harpist Alina Bzhezhinska and her quartet as one of the support bands on its November 18, 2017 one-nighter A Concert for Alice and John, a show headlined by Pharoah Sanders. It would be an exaggeration to say Bzhezhinska stole the show (see “Pharoah Sanders" above), but she was sensational, offering up fresh readings of Alice Coltrane tunes and a few originals, accompanied by Tony Kofi on ...
Continue ReadingJo Harrop: The Heart Wants
by Richard J Salvucci
Is it the behind-the-beat feel Ms Harrop gets, even when she is not? Or perhaps it is in the phrasing? Somehow, she puts a listener in mind of Keely Smith, which is a good thing. There are some very talented jazz singers in the United Kingdom; Jo Harrop is certainly one of them. Here is a recording of loss and longing, and very well done it is. Much of the material Harrop presents in this recording, bluesy, mournful ...
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