Sahra Gure - Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer

Sahra Gure

28/02/2020

Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer, London, UK

Sahra Gure is a Berlin born, London based vocalist who works across a range of genres. Born to a Somali father and German mother, Sahra grew up surrounded by different cultures and sounds that shaped her character and musical personality. Sahra began her musical life as a classical violinist. It wasn’t till she was 14, when she joined the Aldeburgh Young Musician program, that she discovered her love and passion for singing. Sahra was able to study with Brigitte Beraha, Cleveland Watkiss, Pete Churchill, Norma Winstone and many more before accepting a scholarship to study Jazz Performance at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance where she became the 2019 Jazz representative for the gold medal award held at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Despite her tender age of 22, her mature and versatile approach to singing has seen Sahra work with the likes of Orphy Robinson, Dele Sosimi, Cleveland Watkiss, Ashley Henry, Tori Handsley, Mark Mondesir and Kishon Kahn to name a few. Performing at London Jazz Festival, Havana Jazz Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, Dimensions Festival, WOMAD and many more.

Steve Williamson Trio & StringTing

Steve Williamson Trio

Steve Williamson Trio
String Ting

Date: 11th May 2018
Venue: Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer, Southbank, London, UK

The enigmatic and magnetic saxophonist/composer, Steve Williamson explores the sonic elements that link contemporary classical and progressive jazz composition with his trio and members of Tomorrow’s Warriors StringTing. (Part of Ligeti In Wonderland.)

Steve Williamson (born 28 June 1964) is an English saxophonist and composer.(tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, keyboard and composition). He has been called "one of the most distinctive saxophone voices in contemporary British jazz". Born in west London to Jamaican parents, Steve Williamson began playing saxophone at the age of 16 and started his career playing in reggae bands, including Misty in Roots. In 1984 and 1985 he studied at London's Guildhall School of Music, where he was tutored by Lionel Grigson. Williamson was a member of the noted collective of British-born black jazz musicians who came together as the Jazz Warriors in the mid-1980s. At the Nelson Mandela 70th birthday open-air festival in 1988 Williamson played alongside Courtney Pine in Wembley Stadium and afterwards was a constant presence at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club. He was member of Louis Moholo's Viva La Black (1988) and of Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath (1990). During the 1990s he led his own band and appeared in projects of Iain Ballamy, Maceo Parker, Bheki Mseleku, US3, and Graham Haynes. In 1990 Williamson released his first album A Waltz for Grace with Verve, featuring vocalist Abbey Lincoln. In 1992 he released his second album, Rhyme Time, followed by Journey to Truth in 1994, featuring Cassandra Wilson.

StringTing

Tomorrow’s Warriors StringTing is the latest addition to the Tomorrow’s Warriors family of flagship ensembles and is focused around some of our best young string players drawn from our JazzStrings development programme. Members of Tomorrow’s Warriors StringTing meet on a regular basis with their mentor – jazz double bassist and Tomorrow’s Warriors artistic director, Gary Crosby OBE – to work on a wide range of jazz repertoire for performance in a variety of settings, from public concerts and showcases to private functions.  In addition to performances as a distinct ensemble, members also have opportunities to work with our associated professional ensembles, such as Nu Civilisation Orchestra and Jazz Jamaica All Stars.