Snarky Puppy
Kokoroko

After meeting at University of North Texas and being led to internet stardom by the bassist Michael League since 2004, Snarky Puppy is a collective of varying size whose cosmopolitan gang includes members from the US, Canada, Argentina and Puerto Rico. Its cultural wealth goes into making feisty, cool and funky jazz fusion with high-flying soloists. This opulent hip-swaying music gets to work on your head and legs. Their orchestrations regularly create a luxury haven for guests such as Lalah Hathaway, David Crosby and the guitarist Charlie Hunter. "Xavi", the first track from the brand new album Immigrance , is a transcendental piece inspired by meeting Hamid El Kasri (sintir maestro) at the Gnaoua Festival in Essaouira (Morocco). Following the release of 17, a quadruple vinyl with 17 tracks recorded live in 17 different cities, two years after championing the very Latin Culcha Vulcha (2016), the twelfth Pups studio album following the iconic Family Dinner 2 (2014), the collective got back together in the studio for Immigrance (2019). The record is more involved than its predecessor and celebrates multiculturalism to get the collective back on track. "The general idea is that everything flows, moves, and that we're all in a constant state of immigration."

Crédit photo: © Stella K

Kokoroko Afrobeat Collective is a fresh new London-based group led by the trumpeter Sheila Maurice-Grey and made up of eight British musicians. "We're from the greater London area and specialise in a form of brassy jazz soul heavily seasoned by our African and Caribbean roots," says the leader Sheila. As their full name suggests, the natural medium used by Kokoroko ("Be brave! " in Yoruba) is Nigerian afrobeat. Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Ebo Taylor, Tony Allen and highlife music are the inspirations they grew up with and what their parents loved. The first discovery of Kokoroko is the Out Here (2018) compilation that showcases the new generation of British jazz. Their track Abusey Junction sent streaming platforms into overdrive. Kokoroko's mainly instrumental compositions or their cover of Fela's Colonial Mentality (Live at Sofar London, 2016) are winning over an ever-growing audience. The freedom of jazz exudes from the guitar, Rhodes and really radiates from the all-female brass trio led by Sheila Maurice-Grey. The group of princesses wearing gele head ties (popular in Nigeria and Ghana) take centre stage and are what makes the London octet unique.

Crédit photo: © Nina Manandhar​