Soweto Kinch | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Alto saxophonist Soweto Kinch was born in London, England, in 1978. His father, originally from Barbados, was a playwright, and his British-Jamaican mother an actress. Kinch began playing woodwinds at the age of nine, learning clarinet at primary school. After meeting Wynton Marsalis four years later, he discovered modern mainstream jazz, first practicing piano, and in his teenage years concentrating on the alto saxophone. He attended Bromsgrove School in Worcestershire, graduating in 1996. Next, he earned a degree in modern history from Hertford College at the University of Oxford in 1999, but put aside traditional subjects for a street jazz education after being offered a place within the core band of Tomorrows Warriors, a young artists development program established by Gary Crosby in 1991. In addition to Crosby, Kinchs mentors included fellow saxophonists Courtney Pine and Denys Baptiste. Kinch made his recording debut as a performer and arranger with Crosbys Jazz Jamaica Allstars on their 2001 album, Massive. In 2001, Kinch formed his own trio, and since then has won numerous accolades including the Rising Star Award at the 2002 BBC Jazz Awards, and the White Foundation World Saxophone Competition prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In 2003 and 2007 he won the MOBO prize for Best Jazz Act, and his debut album, Conversations with the Unseen, was given high honors in the U.K. In 2004, Kinch won a pair of BBC Radio Jazz Awards, Best Instrumentalist and Best Band, along with the Peter Whittingham Award for Jazz Innovation. In 2006, Kinch released his second album, A Life in the Day of B19: Tales of the Tower Block, the first installment of a two-part concept album documenting the lives of three inner-city Birmingham men, with narration from Moira Stuart. Kinch also moonlights as a member of the pop idol backing band the Big Blue, and has delved into the acid jazz, hip-hop, and rap scenes of London. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 5 Title: Conversations With the Unseen Released: 2003 Tracks: 12 Duration: 1:14:37 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Intro (02:10) 2 Doxology (09:15) 3 Conversations With the Unseen (07:34) 4 Elision (05:56) 5 Spokes and Pedals (06:29) 6 Intermission-Split Decision (08:19) 7 Snakehips (07:39) 8 Mungos Adventure (07:06) 9 The Flame-Thrower (02:59) 10 Equianos Tears (10:22) 11 Good Nyooz (03:21) 12 Outro (03:23) |
| Conversations With the Unseen : Allmusic album Review : This debut album from the young London-based alto saxman rightfully earned the artist a Mercury Music Prize nomination. Soweto Kinch and his players emerge here with above-average post-bop jazz vibes. Kinch mixes improvisational freakouts with impeccable mood explorations, spanning highly tense passages with moments both playful and graceful. Kinchs sax is mostly elevated in the mix, though Troy Millers drums sometimes rock out in bold solos and Michael Olatujas double bass occasionally takes center stage, journeying into uneasy territory or bouncing along in the foreground with effortless cool. When Kinch and company arent painting bold sonic experiments or crafting subtle moods, they let down their guard, as Kinch lowers his instruments and raps, rather unfortunately, on a few of the tracks. While his saxophone makes for mostly rewarding listening, Kinchs awkward raps just feel wrong, breaking up the flow of the jazzier numbers and thus making the album feel longer and somewhat overbearing. The rapping is interesting on paper at least, and Kinch tackles it with little artifice and decent conviction, but hes simply not that strong of a rapper. With a running time that nearly hits an hour and 15 minutes, Kinch would have done well to have left out the raps altogether. The only reason his raps dont bring the album down as a whole is that the entire affair is presented as a jazz club concert, with Kinch sometimes addressing a nonexistent audience. This gives a slight improvisational charm to the raps and to some of the extended numbers, but ultimately the fake audience banter is a conceit that takes away from the album and makes it more tiresome rather than bolstering it. In a live setting or in concert footage, the effect would be more appealing. Sometimes brilliant, sometimes maddening, Conversations With the Unseen is a bold, smart debut from Soweto Kinch that portrays a young talent grappling with jazz in new and interesting ways. Though the album doesnt always succeed, Kinchs virtuoso playing and quick mind are never in doubt. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 5 Title: A Life in the Day of B19: Tales of the Tower Block Released: 2006 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:18:52 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Opening Theme (01:17) 2 The Mission (06:47) 3 10.30 Appointment (06:44) 4 Adrians Ballad (04:49) 5 Love Gamble (04:25) 6 Ridez (05:09) 7 Padz (05:33) 8 Marcuss Crisis (04:51) 9 So! (07:20) 10 Expansion (03:19) 11 Out There (04:53) 12 A Friendly Game of Basketball (06:50) 13 Everybody Raps (05:42) 14 Who Knows? (04:56) 15 The House That Love Built (06:10) |
 | Album: 3 of 5 Title: The New Emancipation Released: 2010-09-27 Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:14:52 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 An Ancient Worksong (01:44) 2 Trying to Be a Star (04:28) 3 A People With No Past (06:45) 4 Paris Heights (07:58) 5 Suspended Adolescence (07:37) 6 Help (07:13) 7 Love of Money (04:32) 8 Trade (08:19) 9 Axis of Evil (03:42) 10 On the Treadmill (04:53) 11 Escape (02:35) 12 Never Ending (10:29) 13 Raise Your Spirit (04:30) |
 | Album: 4 of 5 Title: The Legend of Mike Smith Released: 2013-02-18 Tracks: 41 Duration: 2:25:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Phone Call (02:22) 2 A Restless Mind (03:32) 3 The Great Commission (00:16) 4 The Dream (07:11) 5 Proactive Training (01:52) 6 Acedia (06:48) 7 Buzzys Coattails (02:03) 8 Invidia (04:40) 9 Pick Up the Phone (00:37) 10 Road Block (06:45) 11 Tube Delays (00:16) 12 Traffic Lights (04:27) 13 Pressure (06:06) 14 Serpents Tail (00:47) 15 Ira (05:03) 16 Concierge (01:16) 17 Vacuum (08:33) 18 Shopping Spree (00:30) 19 Sweeping Change (07:52) 20 Lord of the Flies (00:37) 21 Gula (06:34) 22 Escape the Vomitorium (01:23) 23 Luxuria (06:04) 24 Not Smooth Sir (00:39) 25 The Board Game (04:52) 26 Play Again (00:39) 27 Avaritia (06:41) 28 Roma (00:46) 29 Slam (02:15) 30 Shut Out the Voices (00:55) 31 Better Off Alone (05:37) 32 Razor Calls (01:15) 33 Superbia (06:49) 34 The Dark Warrior Lord (01:30) 35 Durge (05:48) 36 Mans Darkest Hour (00:53) 37 Epiphany (07:09) 38 Im Going Anyway (01:43) 39 The Healing (05:13) 40 The Golden Mic (01:10) 41 The Bounce (05:38) |
 | Album: 5 of 5 Title: Nonagram Released: 2016 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:36:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Centricity (04:08) 2 Crosswinds (07:17) 3 Waved (05:14) 4 Triangle (08:44) 5 Soul bearings (05:21) 6 The engine drivers (08:02) 7 Four caste (04:58) 8 Stems and petals (05:54) 9 Nostalgia (04:29) 1 King Davids Lyre (03:54) 2 In Plain Sight (04:58) 3 Seventy (06:45) 4 Mass Deseption (04:42) 5 Mitosis (03:03) 6 Montpellier (05:19) 7 The Sum of all Parts (06:01) 8 At Peace (05:24) 9 Convergence to a Singularity (02:27) |