Soweto Kinch (born 10 January 1978) is a British jazz saxophonist and rapper.

Biography

Born in 1978 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, to a Barbadian father, playwright Don Kinch, and British-Jamaican actress Yvette Harris, Soweto Kinch began playing saxophone at the age of nine after learning clarinet at Allfarthing Primary School,

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

, south-west London. He then moved to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, where he attended West House Primary School in

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is a suburb of Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies immediately south-west of Birmingham city centre, and was historically in Warwickshire. The Ward (electoral subdivision), wards of Edgbaston and Nort ...

, beginning a long association with Britain's second city. After meeting

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, and music instructor, who is currently the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has been active in promoting classical and jazz music, often to young ...

four years later, he discovered and became passionate about

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, first concentrating on piano and later in his teens switching to alto saxophone as his main instrument. He attended

Bromsgrove School Bromsgrove School is a co-educational boarding and day school in the Worcestershire town of Bromsgrove, England. Founded in 1553, it is one of the oldest public schools in Britain, and one of the 14 founding members of the Headmasters' Confer ...

, Worcestershire, from the age of 13, completing his

A-levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

when he was 18. Early musical influences include the vocalist and percussionist Frank Holder. Kinch went on to study Modern History at

Hertford College Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. He also benefited from participation in the programmes of Tomorrow's Warriors, the music education and artist development organisation co-founded in 1991 by Janine Irons and Gary Crosby, and played with Crosby's

Jazz Jamaica All Stars Jazz Jamaica is a British jazz/reggae music group founded by musician Gary Crosby in London in 1991. History In 1991, inspired by the rhythms of traditional Jamaican music and the largely improvisational nature of jazz, Gary Crosby — one of ...

collective. In 2001, Kinch established the Soweto Kinch Trio with bassist Michael Olatuja and drummer Troy Miller and supported

Courtney Pine Courtney Pine, (born 18 March 1964) is a British jazz musician, who was the principal founder in the 1980s of the black British band the Jazz Warriors. Although known primarily for his saxophone playing, Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also ...

Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sc ...

and performed at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

and the Cheltenham International Jazz Festival. In 2006, Kinch released his second album, '' A Life in the Day of B19: Tales of the Tower Block'', the first instalment of a two-part concept album documenting the lives of three Birmingham men. The album includes narration by BBC newsreader Moira Stuart. Kinch is also a member of the ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and pa ...

'' backing band the Big Blue. Kinch has performed for Don't Flop Entertainment, where he has competed in rap battles and faced opponents Dotz, Shuffle T and Charron. In an interview at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix ...

mentioned that she would like to record a "more purist" jazz album, citing Kinch as a notable jazz musician with whom she would like to work.

Stage work

In 2013, Kinch presented a staged performance of his concept album ''The Legend of Mike Smith'' at

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

in England. The performance was influenced by ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...

'' and the seven deadly sins, telling the tale of Mike Smith, a young MC faced with a range of contemporary temptations. Kinch performed the work with Karl Rasheed Abel on bass and Shaney Forbes on drums. The subject allowed Kinch to explore a wide range of emotions in

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

and jazz form. He has stated that the trio format "allows ormore harmonic freedom and space to deliver lyrics".

Other work

In April 2016, Kinch became a presenter of the

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

programme ''Jazz Now'' and, in April 2024, ''Round Midnight''. Kinch curated the 2019 Koestler Arts exhibition, which showcases artworks created by prisoners and detainees in institutions, and is held at the

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is an arts centre in London, England. It is adjacent to the separately owned National Theatre and BFI Southbank. It comprises the three main performance spaces – the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Purcell R ...

in London.

Discography

* '' Conversations with the Unseen'' (Dune, 2003) * '' A Life in the Day of B19: Tales of the Tower Block'' (Dune, 2006) * '' War in a Rack'' (Soweto Kinch, 2009) * '' The New Emancipation'' (Soweto Kinch, 2010) * '' The Legend of Mike Smith'' (Soweto Kinch, 2013) * ''Nonagram'' (Soweto Kinch, 2016) * ''The Black Peril'' (Soweto Kinch, 2019)

References

External links

* – official site *
Soweto Kinch
BBC profile
Soweto Kinch
at dune-music.com
Soweto Kinch
interview by Michael "The Dood" Edwards, "The Emancipation of Soweto Kinch", for ''UK Vibe'', August 2010

interview at britishhiphop.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Kinch, Soweto 1978 births Living people 21st-century British male musicians 21st-century British saxophonists Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford Black British male rappers British male rappers 21st-century Black British male musicians Black British musicians British jazz alto saxophonists British male jazz musicians British male saxophonists English people of Barbadian descent English people of Jamaican descent Musicians from the London Borough of Wandsworth Nu Troop members People educated at Bromsgrove School People from Wandsworth Tomorrow's Warriors alumni