Sons Of Kemet

On the 29th October 2014, Sons Of Kemet will take to the stage at XOYO for a special London show in amongst their busy European touring schedule. Michael Underwood explains why this is a must-see gig:

A MOBO Jazz award winning group, Sons of Kemet are led by saxophonist, clarinettist and composer Shabaka Hutchings. The rest of the band are Oren Marshall (Moondog, Radiohead) on tuba and two drummers: Seb Rochford (Polar Bear, Babyshambles) and Tom Skinner (Zero 7, Eska). The double drum polyrhythms combine with deep bass lines and lively woodwind lines to produce a truly exciting, electric sound.

Shabaka Hutchings told London Jazz News: ‘We’re really excited to perform some new material at our XOYO gig. We’ve just been in the studio recording our second album and started our autumn European tour, so we are looking forward to bringing the show home’

Sons of Kemet have had an extremely successful first couple of years, with sessions on BBC Radio 3’s Jazz On 3 and Maida Vale Studios for BBC Radio 2 as well as performances at the London Jazz Festival, Cheltenham Jazz Festival and Ronnie Scotts and a collaboration with the BBC Concert Orchestra (link to review below) at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Their debut album ‘Burn’ (Naim Records) took the jazz world by storm in 2013, however Sons of Kemet are band that you need to experience live!

LINKS: Details of the XOYO gig from the Soundcrash website
CD Review of Sons of Kemet’s debut album, Burn.
Review of Babylon at the 2012 London Jazz Festival