Saxophonist
Composer
Music Arranger
Lyricist
MC / Rap Artist
Educator
Actor
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. 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.
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.
Urban Music Awards Best Jazz Act 2004
BBC Radio Jazz Awards Best Instrumentalist & Best Band 2004
Peter Whittingham Award Jazz Innovation 2004
Mercury Music Prize An Album Of The Year 2003
MOBO Awards Best Jazz Act 2003
BBC Radio Jazz Awards Rising Star 2002
White Foundation International Sax Competition/
Montreux Jazz Festival International Young Saxophonist Of The Year 2002
One of the freshest and most exciting prospects to emerge through British music for years. HIT sheet
'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
If theres anyone who still believes that musicians from other nations dont swing as hard as Americans, this group should convince them otherwise. Soweto Kinch is that good. allaboutjazz.com
One of the most exciting new voices in British jazz boiling the mix from straightahead to hip-hop with a fresh precocious creativity. Echoes
Fresh sound, aggressive virtuosity and raw, bluesy energy mark him out as an outstanding player. Jazzwise
Simplky explosive. Promoters, media and audiences are suggesting him as a major new star. Jazz Review
Soaring, risk-taking playing. The Times
A spectacular musician. The Observer
Simply explosive. Promoters, media and audiences are suggesting him as a major new star. Jazz Review
One of the best and most original British jazz albums ever made. Jazzwise
A new British original with the confidence, skill and vision to take the music far. The Guardian
If you're free next Thursday come down to Chemistry! There's gonna be beautiful music, live art...basically a feast for your eyes AND ears and soooo much more!
One of the few who got to see you perform in Brighton on Saturday, before all the crappy local acts came on :<, top performance mate apart from the mic feedback. I hope to hear some new material soon and keep up the good work!
thank you for the add, i was lucky enough to watch you play at Ronnie Scott's, fantastic performance. and i can't stop spinning your album Conversations with the Unseen. hope you keep on creating wicked music
Hi Soweto, I saw that you were on-line, so I just wanted to greet you. How's the music going London? Catch you sometime soon hopefully! Patricia (Turin, Italy)
i was playing a concert in symphony hall a few weeks back and later heard that you were playing on the campaign bus outside... i found myself in some despair not to be able to show you some appreciation so im doing it now instead!
Just wanted to give you a huge well done for the flyover show. Really great atmosphere, brilliant music, and great food. It's great to know that events like this can happen. Hope you pull off more in the future. Wanna shake my feet more often.
Hey, Soweto, the show was very good, I thank you for that. I loved all the artists. I love your music as well, that mixture of Hip-Hop and Jazz is great.
brother, masterclass at roundhouse was inspirational... thanks a mil
we should skat on the steps more often, make it regular start a cult and so forth... hehe
couldnt make it up to birmingham i'm afraid but Dempsi was tellin me bout some gig in Cargo, Shoreditch so gimme the details n ill whack it in my calendar
ill find sum time to listen to the tunes on ur page n get back tya
