TOMORROW’S WARIORS CURATION
AT BRICK LANE TAP ROOM
Fri 25th, Sat 26th & Sun 27th of April
at Brick Lane Tap Room
Brick Lane Jazz Festival joins forces once again with Tomorrow’s Warriors as our charity partner for our fourth festival edition. We work 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. Tomorrow's Warriors will takeover Brick Lane Tap Room for the full festival weekend, with a live showcase of incredible emerging talent. Brick Lane Tap Room is a full and thriving part of Brick Lane’s scene, priding themselves on their hand-picked selection of local and independently brewed beers.
FRIDAY 25TH APRIL
Kezia Abuoma - 7:15pm-8:00pm
Kezia Abuoma is a pianist and composer from London. Whilst currently studying at Trinity Laban, she has already performed at The Jazz Cafe, Pizza Express Live Holborn, We Out Here Festival, and Dizzy’s Club at the Lincoln Centre, New York.
Kezia and her band will be playing a mix of her original compositions which take inspiration from the music of Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Mccoy Tyner as well as some fresh interpretations of older compositions.
Emily Tran - 8:30pm-9:15pm
Currently studying composition and jazz at the Royal Academy of music Emily Tran is a pianist from South-East London inspired by the likes of Bud Powell, Oscar Peterson, Monk, and Herbie Hancock.
Developing her playing with Tomorrow's Warriors, she has performed with a variety of projects, including leading her own ensembles, at The Queen Elizabeth Hall, Ronnie Scott's, The Jazz Café, Brick Lane Jazz Festival, We Out Here Festival, and Jazz A La Tours in France.
She also performed with Nu Civilisation Orchestra for their Duke Ellington New Orleans Suite at King’s Place as part of the 2024 London Jazz Festival.
With her influences spanning many different genres of music her reputation as a composer is growing fast and Emily was recently commissioned to write an original musical score for BBC Radio 4’s re-imagined dramatisation of The Great Gatsby.
KO Quartet - 10:00pm-10:45pm
Ky Osborne (KO) already has a growing reputation as an up-and-coming jazz pianist, backed by the Tomorrow’s Warriors (a leading jazz talent development organisation). He approaches jazz from new angles, exploring both his roots in Senegalese Mande music and his fascination with modern hip hop. His playing harkens back to greats such as Oscar Peterson and Ahmad Jamal, but brings his own outgoing, modern perspective.
The KO quartet – Ky Osborne (piano), Ollie Young (guitar), Joe Steyn (drums) and Freddie Canton (double bass) met in their first year at Trinity Laban Conservatoire. They clicked immediately and began developing their own unique approach to traditional standards and experimenting with some originals.
They are now only in their second year at Trinity but have already begun to establish themselves as a quartet. In 2024, they played together at the We Out Here Festival, The Vortex, The EFG London Jazz Festival and recently at the Bath Jazz Festival to rave reviews.
“…This was a stunningly beautiful performance that exhibited an emotional maturity beyond the band members’ tender years….Jazz festivals always throw up exciting new discoveries...
For me the ‘find of the festival’ award definitely went to Ky Osborne and the K.O. Quartet. Very well-done guys. I shall look forward to hearing your debut album.” The Jazzman 2025
SATURDAY 26TH APRIL
BXLxLDN Interplay - 3:45pm-4:45pm
Introducing the second instalment of the international collaboration between Tomorrow’s Warriors and Brosella Jazz Festival, Brussels.
This project brings together three of Warriors emerging artists and teams them up with three of their European counterparts to deliver a set of original compositions and inspirational musical alliances.
This year London is represented by bassist Myra Brownbridge (Tony Kofi, Zara McFarlane, Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain), tenor saxophonist David Kayode (Nii Maxine, Osibisa, Moses Boyd), and drummer Cassius Cobbson (Mansur Brown).
And, completing the sextet, the Brussels contingent features Marius Rabbe on trombone, soprano saxophonist Adia Vanheerentals, and guitarist Anton Robberechts.
Tomorrow’s Warriors Frontline - 5:30pm-6:15pm
Tomorrow’s Warriors Frontline is a formidable 8-piece line-up of some of our finest young Warriors musicians, championing the role of women in jazz.
Frontline’s powerful live show draws inspiration from the jazz greats and blends a contemporary vibe with elements of jazz-fusion, funk, and R&B. Featuring a mix of jazz standards and their own compositions, Frontline channels the influences of Hank Mobley Esperanza Spalding, Thelonious Monk, Wayne Shorter, Nérija and many more.
Frontline previous performances include a headline date with TW alum, and acclaimed saxophonist, Camilla George, a London Jazz Festival show at Pizza Express Soho, We Out Here Festival, Birmingham Symphony Hall, and Jazz Á Tours Festival in France.
Joti - 7:00pm-7:45pm
Unassuming trumpeter Joseph Oti is quietly but emphatically establishing himself as one to watch amongst the gloriously burgeoning London jazz scene.
An ‘in demand’ musician he is currently involved with several prominent bands including the Seed Ensemble as well as saxophonist Jean Toussaint’s JT5.
But it is leading his own new project, the Joti Quintet, where really shines, bringing an inspired mix of Jazz, Afro Beats, dancehall, and UK hip hop together to create a wonderful journey of sonic excitement.
Shanise Hall - 9:00pm-9:45pm
Shanise Hall is a third-generation Jamaican jazz Trumpeter who grew up in the lively community of Streatham in South London. Drawing inspiration from Roy Hargrove and Freddie Hubbard, Shanise believes in the transformative power of music, with performances reflecting her life journey and heritage.
In April 2023, she creative soul and promising academic path in neuroscience at the University of Bristol to a flourishing career in jazz, with the unwavering support of her grandmother, aunt, and mentors Gary Crosby OBE and Tomorrow’s Warriors.
Shanise debuted her own project at the Southbank Centre to open for BBC Introducing Futuretense and has since performed at Womad, Brick Lane Jazz Festival, All Points East, Great Exhibition Road Festival, Greenbelt, and at We Out Here on the Tomorrow’s Warriors Big Top stage.
She is a member the NoK Cultural Ensemble, the Kolakale Kolective, Grand Union Orchestra and has performed with Theon Cross and David Mrakpor.
Plus Jam - 10:00pm-10:45pm
SUNDAY 27TH APRIL
Tomorrow’s Warriors Junior Band - 2:30pm-3:15pm
Tomorrow's Warriors Junior Band is an exciting new line-up of musicians aged 14-16, featuring some of the most promising musicians on Tomorrow's Warriors' award-winning Young Artist Development Programme. The band are closely mentored by Rosie Turton - one of the finest trombonists on the London scene - as well as Dian Gasper, Axel Kaner-Lidstrom, and Gary Crosby OBE.
Whilst following the lineage of jazz of the great jazz canon, they bring their own unique style and arrangements to their music.
Plus Jam - 3:15pm-4:00pm
Tomorrow’s Warriors Youth Ensemble - 4:45pm-5:30pm
Tomorrow's Warriors Youth Ensemble is a band punching well above their weight - a unique sextet aged 15-19, the band boasts exceptional talent. They are one of Tomorrow's Warriors flagship development groups, mentored by Denys Baptiste - one of the most acclaimed British saxophonists of the 21st century - as well as Binker Golding, Sultan Stevenson, and Gary Crosby OBE.
With influences ranging from bebop and hard bop to spiritual jazz and fusion, expect a varied, dynamic, and exciting set!
Klara Devlin Quartet - 6:00-6:45pm
Those in the know are already excited about the rise of trumpeter Klara Devlin on the British jazz scene.
A finalist in the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year 2024, Klara's material draws inspiration mainly from the Bebop and Hard Bop eras, mixed with a soupcon of Funk and improv, while her influences span Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Ella Fitzgerald, Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove, Chick Corea, and Wayne Shorter.
“Klara Devlin, remember her name, she is, in my opinion, one of the most amazing and unique new trumpet voices to emerge onto the UK jazz scene. To coin the famous quote, ‘if ya ain't got it in ya, ya can't blow it out’. Klara Devlin definitely has it, and definitely blows it out of her horn! I’m about 2-3 jazz generations in front of her, and I’ve never been this excited about a young musician in a while, definitely a stylist who’ll be making new waves for the next generation.” Tony Kofi, saxophonist
David Kayode - 7:30pm -8:15pm
Mentored Tomorrow’s Warriors alum Camilla George and Warriors co-founder Gary Crosby OBE, saxophonist David Kayode, is a rising talent on the UK jazz scene. Growing up in West London, David’s first musical memory is hearing the music of Bob Marley and singing along to Three Little Birds. His household mixed the sounds of reggae with Ghanaian high-life music, and the joy, love and power of music became a major part of his childhood.
It was at Tomorrow’s Warriors that Gary Crosby encouraged David to swap from alto to tenor sax, the instrument he now favours. David has gone on to perform regularly with the Gary Crosby Sextet for the acclaimed Mingus Moves series of concerts in 2022/23. As well as leading his band, David regularly plays with Nii Maxine, has performed with afro-beat pioneers Osibisa, and has travelled to Hong Kong with MOBO winner and Mercury Prize nominee Moses Boyd.