Driftglass
London-based 10-piece SEED Ensemble features some of the UK’s most exciting rising jazz musicians, including their bandleader, composer, and alto saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi, and Sons of Kemet’s Theon Cross. Their Mercury-nominated debut carries to shore an eclectic raft of influences, from Miles Davis at his ’60s height (“The Darkies”) to hints of piano legend Jason Rebello in “The Dream Keeper.” There’s rawness in the tripping beats of “Afronaut”—a sprawling epic framing XANA’s commanding spoken word—while the bluesy, fervent chanting in “WAKE (For Grenfell)” pushes through powerful, ever-more-twisting brass and complex rhythms. The final track, “Interplanetary Migration,” featuring London MC Mr Ekow, sinks joyfully into African grooves, with the collective’s impressive chops and thrilling, tight ensemble lifting it high into orbit.
jazz re:freshed are proud to present the long-awaited debut album from emerging London-based collective SEED Ensemble. Formed in 2016, SEED Ensemble is a ten-piece project led by composer, arranger and alto saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi. Already a giant on the UK jazz scene, she is known for her work with all-female jazz septet, Nerija, and afrobeat jazz group, Kokoroko. Combining jazz with inner-city London, West African and Caribbean influenced groove, Cassie Kinoshi’s SEED Ensemble explores a blend of genres through both original compositions and arrangements. “SEED Ensemble is my way of celebrating the vibrant and distinctive diversity that has significantly influenced what British culture has become over the centuries. Projecting this new musical vision are some of London’s most up-and-coming young jazz musicians essential to the modern identity of British jazz including tuba player Theon Cross, trumpeter Sheila Maurice-Grey, tenor saxophonist Chelsea Carmichael and one of London’s leading guitarists, Shirley Tetteh. Across ‘Driftglass’, Kinoshi embraces styles both past and present to create something that we can call modern. Band members cut across race and gender with original compositions inspired by the social issues of our times.
Composer Kinoshi is at home with a 10-piece ensemble of young talent, fusing African, Caribbean, dance grooves and 60s Blue Note