A deeper African source: How grime and afrobeat is influencing UK jazz – Features

This highlights the change in jazz and the idea that people play for a different reaction than is traditional. “It’s not seated, dinner table music; people are skanking” said Swindle. Hutchings seconded this and said “there are a lot of things in the music that are being done specifically to invite people in, such as Afro Caribbean rhythms or melody that people can actually comprehend on first listen”. As a result, “you’ve seen a lot more Black people coming out to gigs [and] a lot more young people in general”. Boyd also revealed that “it was a lot more conservative and not as diverse when I was growing up. Now it’s the opposite”.

Effectively, the two scenes are becoming more similar, in terms of the audience demographic. Hutchings also suggested that the sounds are gradually becoming interlinked, pointing to the “intricate” production on Kano’s ‘Hoodies All Summer’ similar to that of jazz.

He doesn’t hear the music in isolation and believes that “once musicians start to hear the deeper connections of the music from a deeper African source, then for me, the genres all go away and [you] start to see how jazz music for instance, can link up with grime”.

The connection between jazz and afrobeat is clearly audible in groups like Ezra Collective and KOKOROKO who draw influence from the genre, helping to draw listeners in. The link is unsurprising, given the heritage of some of the players and the history between the two sounds.

The father of afrobeat, Fela Kuti, studied jazz at Trinity College London in 1959 and afrobeat mixes jazz, among other genres, with Ghanaian highlife. KOKOROKO co-founder, Onome Edgeworth asserted that “when listening to afrobeat you can hear the jazz in it” and that afrobeat’s importance is acknowledged “depending on who you ask”.

Despite this, Ezra Collective member and solo artist, Joe Armon-Jones said “throughout all my time at music college the genre [afrobeat] wasn’t mentioned, even though Fela actually studied at the same college!”

Maybe Armon-Jones’ teachers didn’t think it was worth mentioning but during the 1970s and 1980s Kuti’s music was important as he spoke out against the military government in Nigeria, becoming a voice for young people and the working class.

This meant that for people like Edgeworth, afrobeat “was just the music I grew up with. It was always playing in my house and I was surrounded by a lot of African musicians and artists that worked with my mum. It was normal to us but looking back it was a special thing. We were lucky man, a group of kids that just grew up around live music”. This upbringing has ensured that his band honours tradition: KOKOROKO means “be strong” in Urhobo, a language spoken by the Urhobo people in Southern Nigeria.

But even those who aren’t from that culture cite afrobeat as an influence. People like Emma-Jean Thrackray and Joe Armon-Jones are a testament to a fluidity that exists in the musical and social scenes in London and the UK. Nubya Garcia says that London’s multicultural nature “provides a really beautiful melting pot of inspirations, histories and musical languages”. The afrobeat language has influenced her “rhythmic propulsion”, which is something that she feels very strongly about.

The rise of modern day afrobeats makes this fusion increasingly important too. Armon-Jones doesn’t think “there’s been much crossover between jazz and modern afrobeats” in what he’s heard – the crossover largely taking place between jazz and afrobeat “Fela Kuti style” – he notably collaborated with afrobeat artist, Obongjayar on ‘Self Love’ off of his sophomore album, ‘Turn to Clear View’. Nonetheless, songs like ‘Must Be’ by J Hus infuse jazz with the use of live instruments.

Although jazz and afrobeat are two genres that can be associated with a previous generation, Edgeworth insists that “they’re very much alive. Obviously [they] aren’t at the forefront of popular music now, but elements of them are found everywhere. You listen to Beyoncé or Burna Boy or Kendrick Lamar and you’re hearing jazz and afrobeat. I think more people are more familiar with both genres than we acknowledge and good music will always cut through somehow”. KOKOROKO’s ‘Abusey Junction’ is an example of this. The rhythm and calming nature of the song, touching millions of people from around the world.

For KOKOROKO, and arguably all of the artists within the bubbling jazz scene, “it’s about finding a sound that’s honest and fully exploring that, then pushing that as much as we can. Whatever we’ve consumed is going to be in there. It’s more about respecting those genres [that came before us], doing our study and then pushing ourselves to really honour the innovation and creativity that was shown in them – that’s what we want to replicate”.

Xaymaca Awoyungbo is a freelance journalist. Follow him on Twitter