Results for "African Jazz"

Jay-Lou Ava

Born: September 23, 1960

Jay Lou Ava (born Israël Jean‑Louis Ava in 1960, Yaoundé, Cameroon) is an internationally acclaimed guitarist, composer, arranger and multi‑instrumentalist, celebrated for his genre‑defying fusion of African musical traditions with jazz and world music — a style he defines as Progressive Afro‑Jazz (PAJ).

Early Life and Musical Roots

Jay Lou Ava grew up in a musical household in Yaoundé. His father was a church organist and gospel composer, whose hymns deeply influenced Jay Lou’s early musical sensibilities. His older brother introduced him to jazz legends such as Duke Ellington and Wes Montgomery, planting the seeds of his lifelong love affair with jazz.

Sylvain Leroux

Born: May 4

Sylvain Leroux grew up in Montreal where he studied classical flute at Vincent d’Indy; and improvisation and composition in New York at the Creative Music Studio where he attended classes by luminaries Don Cherry, Anthony Braxton, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and manymore. A pioneer of African Jazz, he is a foremost player of the Fula flute, the traditional flute from Guinea. As bandleader, he brought traditional West African music to Zankel Hall with his Fula Flute Ensemble. His 2002 CD “Fula Flute,” achieved cult status and stimulated worldwide interest

Temidayo Balogun

Born: March 29, 1995

Temidayo Balogun is a talented and versatile pan-African musician with a strong background in jazz and contemporary music. He hails from Osun state, Nigeria, and has a diverse skill set that includes playing the saxophone, piano, and talking drum. His musical journey has taken him through a rich education at the Muson School of Music(Lagos, Nigeria), and later on at the Longy School of Music(Cambridge, Massachusettes), where he had the opportunity to study with renowned artists such as Noah Preminger, Eric Hofbauer, and Ben Schwendener.

Temidayo is not only a solo artist but has also had the privilege of collaborating with various notable musicians and bands, both in Nigeria and Boston. These collaborations include artists like Yinka Davies, Taye Mayegha, Tosin Aribisala, and groups like The Lagos Jazz Series Quintet, Generayshun, The Native Brains, Ope and the Stereo Choir, Jazz in My Room, and most notably, The Makanda Project in Boston.

Aly Keїta

Born: June 17, 1969

West African musician Aly Keita earned worldwide renown for his mastery of the balafon, a marimba-like instrument native to the region. The balafon is traditionally the instrument of the griot, or the oral historians and songsmiths of West Africa. Although the tradition lives on, it is not as a griot that Keita became famous. Rather, it was his ability to take this millennium-old instrument into a modern musical context. While rooted in tradition, Keita's Afro-pop, funk-fueled rhythm section and taste for complex jazz-oriented arrangements set him far apart from most balafonists. Aly hails from a famous musical family, the same that produced Salif Keita, one of West Africa's most treasured songwriters and musical talents

David Andish

Born: October 18, 1984

Born on October 18, 1984, in Lusaka, Zambia, David Andish grew up in a loving family of five. From a young age, he found solace and inspiration in music, a passion that would shape his life's trajectory. It was at Jacaranda Basic School where young David discovered his profound love and passion for music in the year 2000 at the age of 16. He embarked on his musical journey after joining Praise Christian Centre, where he would worship and serve God through music to this day. It was during this time that he picked up the guitar, igniting a spark that would fuel his musical career.

Jabu Nkosi

Born: October 7, 1954

Jabulani Patrick Nkosi was born in Alexandra, a township in the Gauteng province of South Africa which forms part of the City of Johannesburg, to legendary saxophonist and pioneer of South African Jazz Isaac 'Zacks' Nkosi and EMI session vocalist for the Dark City Sisters Kate Nkosi (née Olene) in 1954, he was the eldest son of four other siblings.

Amine Dhouibi

Born: October 17, 1990

Amine Dhouibi is an independent musician and composer dedicated to exploring and shaping a personal voice within the expansive world of contemporary music. Born in Sousse, Tunisia, he developed an early connection to music and the guitar during a period of introspection, using sound as a medium to translate his inner perceptions and imaginative visions. This search for expression continues to define his artistic path. His work reflects a deeply personal perspective, engaging with the evolving language of contemporary and experimental music while pushing beyond conventional boundaries. Drawing from a wide range of musical influences, Dhouibi’s approach is both exploratory and transformative, contributing to new directions in modern sound

Hubert Colau

Simeon Nathanael Davis

Born: September 2, 1997

With a career spanning two continents before he was 20, arrangements that have received awards from both Downbeat (2021) and the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers (2021) while still a student, and compositions described as “on a scale with Everglades by Terence Blanchard,” (Gary Lowe, WUNH), Simeon Nathanael Davis is a composer, bandleader, saxophonist, and violinist who blends jazz, folk, classical, and neo-soul music with his roots in South African jazz to programmatically trace narratives drawn from mythology, religion, fiction, and lived experiences. Davis was raised and lived in Cape Town, South Africa for 17 years

Shems Bendali

Shems was born in 1996 and grew up in the small city of Thonon-Les-Bains (France). He studied first with French trumpet player Jeff Baud and then went to study at Lausanne Jazz music faculty (Switzerland). There he studied with Matthieu Michel, Emil Spanyi, Robert Bonisolo, René Mosele and Banz Oester. Within the first year of studying there, he quickly made his way through the Jazz and Hip Hop scene and was playing in every major jazz venue in the country. With his band and his many prolific artistic collaborations, Shems has been playing regularly in many countries such as Switzerland, France, Italy, Germany, England, Ukraine, Austria, Spain, Belgium, Turkey, and Egypt for the past few years. He has performed on stage and/or recorded in studios with Bastian Baker, Kadebostany, Charlie Winston, Fianso, Rilès, Danitsa, Lea Lu, Issam Krimi, François Jeanneau, Matthieu Michel, Pierre Drevet, Banz Oester, Emil Spanyi, Jean-Lou Treboux, Chistophe Moniot, Nils Wogram, Nik Bartch, Emmanuel Bex and many more.