Sax Appeal

JAZZ missionary Soweto Kinch tells Tim Hughes that he can’t wait to get back to the city that inspired him – Oxford AS the face of new British jazz, Soweto Kinch has played prestigious shows around the world.

But one forthcoming show is causing the Mercury-nominated saxophonist great excitement, because it sees him returning to his roots in the City of Dreaming Spires.

The show at Oxford Town Hall, will bring Soweto back to the city where he studied and forged his unique blend of hip-hop, rap and jazz.

“It’s always great to come back to Oxford,” says Soweto, who graduated with a degree in modern history from Hertford College in 1999.

“It feels like eons ago since I studied there. I have been back a few times since to play college balls, but this will be the first for a while.”

The show, a highlight of Oxford Jazz Festival, on April 22, will see him headlining a night of music also featuring the Big Colours Big Band and Fringe Magnetic.

“Oxford has always had a very healthy jazz scene, which has existed under the radar,” he says. “Local artists – people like Denny Ilett – show a consistently high standard of playing. It’s also an enchanting place with a great festival which is still expanding. I’m really happy to be playing it.”

Unusually for jazz artists, London-born and Birmingham-raised Soweto appeals to followers of urban music as much as those of pure jazz.

“I’ve always been an avid hip-hop fan, and that rhythm is pervasive in what we do,” he explains. “And we have the blessing of people who respect that art form.

“But we are just one of many new groups who are constantly redefining what it means to be British and a jazz musician.”

As well as being a jazz missionary, Soweto has never shied away from politics and social commentary.

Named by his mother, in memory of South Africa’s Soweto riots which took place two years before his birth, he says he inherited his conscience from his parents.

“They were both pan-Africanists and that was a big part of the thinking behind my name,” he says.

“I have always been aware of the political aspects of art and power and how art can change perceptions.”

A jazz enthusiast since his early teens, a meeting with the legendary Wynton Marsalis inspired Soweto to pick up the alto sax. After leaving Oxford, he joined Gary Crosby’s Tomorrow’s Warriors before making his debut with the artist’s Jamaica All Stars in 2001.

That same year he set up his own Soweto Kinch Trio, supporting Courtney Pine at Ronnie Scotts, in his home city of Birmingham, London’s Royal Festival Hall and the Cheltenham Jazz Festival.

He went on to win a Rising Star award at the BBC Jazz Awards, a MOBO, and that Mercury Nomination for his breakthrough album Conversations with the Unseen. He lost out to rapper Dizzee Rascal.

His second album, a concept following the lives of people on a Birmingham housing estate, called A Life In The Day Of B19 – Tales Of The Tower Block (which was narrated by news reader Moira Stewart) was critically acclaimed and was followed by last year’s The New Emancipation.

But, as unfathomably cool as his career seems, Soweto also has a dark secret... he also starred as a member of The Big Blue – the backing band for TV talent show Pop Idol – forerunner to X Factor. What, I ask, was that all about? “I was young and needed the money,” he laughs.

“But it was a real experience. It was interesting to see how much manufacturing goes into music; it was an education. But, when all is said and done, a lot of work also goes into it.”

While a successful recording artist, Soweto insists his work can only really be understood by hearing it live. For, unlike mainstream formulaic rock and pop, every one of his shows is different.

“Improvisation comes into everything we do,” he says proudly.

“There’s a political element as well as a story-telling side, and I like to improvise and freestyle to make my solos tailored and relevant to the audience at that moment.

“It’s energetic and eclectic but also bespoke. Unlike pop routines in which you know exactly what people are going to do, there’s an element of surprise. It’s all unknown when you begin but it all fits. It’s also a great test of musicianship. It lets me evolve.

“Making music is like a dialogue or a conversation,” he elaborates excitedly, warming to a subject close to his heart.

“If all members of the band are thinking and feeling the same, then you’re going in the right direction. If people have heard our studio stuff and have struggled to identify with it, seeing us live is a ‘Eureka!’ moment.”

And he encouraged music-lovers to come along.

“I want to create a show which is a spectacle and inspiring and I’d encourage everyone to take a punt; that’s what this festival is all about. It’s evangelising and proselytising to people who wouldn’t normally come out.”

And if they don’t like jazz? “Come along anyway – and reserve all judgment until after the show!”

* Soweto Kinch plays Oxford Town Hall on April 22. Oxford Jazz Festival runs from April 21-24. Go to oxfordjazzfestival.com for ticket details and a chance to listen to the artists who are performing.