JAZZ RE:FRESHED CURATION
AT NINETY ONE LIVING ROOM
Fri 25th, Sat 26th & Sun 27th of April
at Ninety One Living Room
This year again, the Ninety One Living Room stage is curated by internationally renowned record label, artist incubator and not-for-profit organisation Jazz Re:freshed.
After celebrating its 20th anniversary last year, pioneering grassroots jazz organisation Jazz re:freshed are partnering once again with Brick Lane Jazz Festival from 25th-27th April 2025. Jazz re:freshed has been at the forefront of the UK jazz scene for the pas two decades, elevating, amplifying and spotlighting the breadth of talented young artists from across the musical spectrum to reach new audiences.
As a non-profit dedicated to creating fun, inclusive and affordable spaces for the advancement of the music, the organisation has provided crucial early career support for the likes of Shabaka Hutchings, Nubya Garcia, Ezra Collective and many more now making waves on the world stage. Built on the foundations of its weekly residency, Jazz re:freshed has grown into a multi-faceted arts organisation and cultural institution, comprising of band development programs, DJ Club nights, multiple partnerships, an award-winning record label and a paradigm shifting international showcasing initiative.
FRIDAY 25TH APRIL
Allexa Nava
Allexa Nava is a saxophonist, flautist and composer, originally from Peru. Set to release her debut EP 'No Langauge' this 2025 she has previously graced the stages of several significant festivals across the UK, including We Out Here, Wilderness, Brainchild, and Glastonbury. Also performed at venues such as Ronnie Scotts, Pizza Express Jazz Club, Jazz in the Round and more. A couple of years ago Allexa first embarked on sharing her original compositions with the world and since hasn't stopped. Her music found its way onto the playlists of numerous esteemed radio stations, such as Jazz FM, Soho Radio, BBC Introducing London, Blue in Green, Worldwide FM, Portuguese “Antena 3”, and even reached the airwaves of WYEP Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.
Tendayi & Friends
Get ready for a thrilling evening of experimental jazz meets trip-hop as Tendayi and Jordan White's dynamic band takes the stage at the Brick Lane Jazz Festival! Fresh from wowing a packed house at the EFG Jazz Festival, Tendayi & Friends return to deliver a genre-bending showcase of Afro-UK hip-hop rhythms, funk, soul, and irresistible grooves. Featuring London’s top talents—Jordan White, Jerome Johnson, Will Worm, and Indigo Pierce—this performance promises to push artistic boundaries and captivate every listener. With his acclaimed debut EP *Process* already turning heads, Tendayi shines not only as a rapper and songwriter but as an accomplished producer and engineer, having worked with icons like Richard Spaven, Jordan Rakei, Harry Styles, and the Rolling Stones. From legendary venues like Ronnie Scott’s to global festivals like SXSW, Tendayi’s genre-blending artistry leaves a lasting impression wherever he goes. Don’t miss this chance to witness music at its most electrifying.
MckNasty
Joshua "MckNasty" McKenzie is a trailblazing musician known for revolutionizing drumming and live performances. Starting his career at 16 with Daniel Bedingfield, he’s played for stars like Tinie Tempah, Lily Allen, and Natasha Bedingfield. As a Musical Director, he transformed urban music concerts into electrifying live shows, taking stages from Glastonbury to the O2. A technical innovator, MckNasty combines drumming and DJing in dynamic performances, earning acclaim from Britain’s Got Talent to Coachella. Raised in a musical family, including his brother Labrinth, he began drumming in church at age three and has since developed a unique style blending rhythm, melody, and energy. Now focused on solo projects, MckNasty is redefining live music for a new generation.
Andrew Ashong (DJ Set)
Sound scientist, music archivist and song-singer, Andrew Ashong is guided by the immersive and transformative registers of recorded music. A Londoner by way of Ghana, the free-spirited Ashong spent years creating mixtapes, journeying through records and growing his musical encyclopaedia. By his early teens he was DJing, deepening his musical knowledge and understanding; eventually building an expansive home-studio and moving to the pulse of his creative inspiration. Cultivating a world of his own with a taste for polyrhythms, idiosyncratic basslines, modal chord progressions, and the ever-expanding palette of influences from Labi Siffre and Richie Havens, to War and Jorge Ben.
SATURDAY 26TH APRIL
Xhosa Cole
Winner of the 2018 BBC Young Jazz Musician of the year, Xhosa Cole is an embodiment of the success of numerous community arts programmes in Birmingham including the Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra, Jazzlines Ensemble and Birmingham Music Service. Having grown up in Handsworth and first played the Tenor at Andy Hamilton's Ladywood Community Music School, he's now among a long legacy of Birmingham Saxophonists including Soweto Kinch and Shabaka Hutchings. Xhosa has performed twice at the BBC Proms, Composed music for the Ripieno Players, a Birmingham Based String Orchestra, recorded saxophone for Mahalia’s debut album ‘Love and Compromise’, completed a 22 date UK tour, all along side his studies as a scholar at Trinity Laban Conservatoire. Xhosa Also received the Parliamentary Jazz Award for ‘Best Newcomer’ in 2019 and Jazz FM 'Breakthrough act of the year'.
Xhosa's earliest memories of the arts are with ACE Youth Dance group. However, since playing in Holyhead School's Jazz band with Ray Prince and Sid Peacock he decided to pursue music and joined the Jazzlines Ensemble, Birmingham Schools Symphony Orchestra, Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra among others. Xhosa attended courses with the National Youth Jazz Collective and National Youth Wind Orchestra. He is now finishing his degree in Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London alongside a wide spectrum of work writing and performing across the UK. in 2019 Xhosa received the Parliamentary Jazz award for 'Best Newcomer”.
Deschanel Gordon
Although he has only just graduated from Trinity Laban, pianist Deschanel Gordon is already making waves on the UK jazz scene winning BBC Young Jazz Musician 2020. One of the brightest prospects of his generation he has worked with the likes of Courtney Pine, Cassie Kinoshi’s SEED, Judi Jackson, Nubya Garcia, Moses Boyd and Mark Kavuma. He has performed at many of London’s best-known jazz venues, including the 606 Club, Ronnie’s Scott’s, the Jazz Café, the Barbican and Cadogan Hall. He also travelled widely, playing at jazz festivals in Europe and the USA, including Moods in Zurich, New York’s Winter Jazz Festival, Jazz TM in Romania and Fasching in Sweden.
Richie
Grounding dreamworlds, reflective currents, without end. London made artist Richie channels our universal source – her output connecting mind, body & soul to tree, root & soil. Previously working with the likes of Eliza, Solange & Kokoroko, this year she prepares a debut offering, a culmination of all she has learnt & experienced up to now. To Richie, art is a life-form with a spiritual nature therefore she creates to bridge gaps in a world full of disconnection & distraction. The recurring constant running through the veins of her art is the need for awareness. In our rapidly advancing technological world, she creates a fresh alternative sound inspired by nature, honest conversations & day to day experiences, providing a moment of pause... The aim not to influence what you think but the way you think.
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SUNDAY 27TH APRIL
Alley Lloyd
With an impressive ten-year career as a session instrumentalist, Bristol-raised, London-based bassist, vocalist and composer Alley Lloyd has toured across the African continent, the USA, Europe and the UK, lending her talents to a diverse array of artists, including Fleur East, Nectar Woode, Poppy Ajudha and COLECTIVA, to name a few, with TV appearances including BBC Two's 'Later... With Jools Holland' and 'Live at Glastonbury'.
Known for her percussive bass playing style, Lloyd’s unique bass lines are informed by her work in Latin American music (notably Cuban traditions), Congolese music and studies in Senegalese sabar. As performer and composer, Lloyd is an integral member of multi-award winning, Latin-jazz outfit, COLECTIVA, with whom she has delivered critically acclaimed performances in the USA, Europe and the UK.
Lox
Lox has been surrounded by percussion his whole life thanks to his father, but picked up the sticks and started playing the drum kit at 10 years old. Since deciding to take it seriously from age 16, he has put in thousands of hours of practice and has learnt to adapt to and develop in many styles of music in order to feel comfortable in any musical situation, including studying music theory in order to compose and arrange music of his own. Meeting some of his heroes by 19 years old spurred his undeniable passion for drums and jazz fusion music, and by age 20, Lox had played many of London’s major venue’s / festivals, toured the country and played shows abroad playing all styles of music, from trap & hip-hop to jazz, fusion to soca & calypso.
Exhibiting both a subtle, musical approach and being able to flip the switch to explosive, exciting drumming, Lox is always hungry to improve and play, and to inspire those around him through his skillset behind the drum kit.
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Brick Lane Jazz Festival is joining forces with Tomorrow’s Warriors as our charity partner for the 2025 edition of the festival. We have worked together to create a unique opportunity to give back to the music community, having an impactful and lasting effect on the emerging UK Jazz talent. Donate now by clicking below: