Along with this announcement Xhosa also shares the first single of the album "Trinkle-Tinkle" ahead of a headline set at the London Jazz Festival at Kings Place this Sunday.
Following his much-admired debut K(no)w Them, K(no)w Us (2021),
and intriguing concept recording Ibeji (2022) - featuring Cole
in duets with seven percussionists from across the African diaspora, this new
release captures Cole with his quartet during an extensive spring tour of the
UK in 2023 playing the music of Monk. “We made the record off the back
of a 38-date UK tour,” Cole explains. “It’s a snapshot from
back-to-back dates in the middle of the tour playing this music - we were in a
van trekking up and down the UK – St. Ives to Devon to Wales to Morecambe to
Newcastle to Louth to Sheffield…!”
Thelonious Monk has always had a special place in Xhosa’s heart, who first
connected with his music through saxophonist Sonny Rollins. “My route
to connecting to him was through Rollins, both geniuses of modern music in
their own rights. Masters of melodies, riffing and spontaneity, they are kings
in a dynasty of improvised music. Monk has a strong legacy of being an
influential mentor and teacher to countless young aspiring jazz musicians -
Coltrane, Jackie McLean, Billy Higgins, Barry Harris and Johnny Griffin. This
legacy lived on through his compositions. Through his recordings and study of
his writing, I've learnt so much about the infrastructure that holds melody and
groove together, and through his improvising, I'm learning about the intersection
of authenticity, identity and expression.”
Xhosa’s affinity with Monk also partly stems from the Caribbean influence on
his music - Monk grew up in San Juan Hill in New York with a big Caribbean
population. His 1959 track, "Played Twice" (featured on K(no)w Them,
K(no)w Us) was Cole’s first exploration in interpreting Monk, which inspired
the tour and recording. “Monk’s writing and playing has been
interpreted in so many ways - this is our first documentation of a long and
ongoing dive into his compositional world. We pushed and stretched and found
new ways into and through this intricate music. I love discovering the wild and
varied versions of these classics that have been recorded, and am proud to add
our stamp to this ever-expanding celebration.”
Opening with the iconic melody Trinkle-Tinkle, the album also features American
tap dancer Liberty Styles on four tracks. “My early roots are in
African dance and so when tap dancer Liberty Styles and I saw that she was
dancing what I was hearing (and they saw that I was playing what they were
feeling) we knew this was a musical connection to life. This album is a
celebration of friendship, joy and improvisation - it's a snapshot into the
love that you can only find on the road with friends.”
Listen to "Trinkle-Trinkle" HERE
The seven tracks of On A Modern Genuis (Vol.1) weave together
nine Monk tunes, with the album closing with Duke Ellington’s Come Sunday,
featuring celebrated vocalist Heidi Vogel singing on a piece she and Cole
played together at the BBC Proms. “Ellington has such a strong musical
resonance with Monk,” notes Cole. “I wanted to honour these
tunes that have given so much to this vast family tree that is music, and to
celebrate their composer, a person who epitomised grace.”
Xhosa has developed his unique mixed-heritage, black British, queer voice in
the jazz tradition. His musical roots are in collaboration and improvisation -
the origins traced back to his beginning playing Tenor Saxophone at the
community music school run by Andy Hamilton in Ladywood, Birmingham - which has
opened the doors to work alongside an expansive pool of creative forces from
different traditions, cultures, backgrounds and practices
In the three years since the release of his debut album K(no)w Them,
K(no)w Us on Stoney Lane Records, Cole’s career has launched into the
contemporary classical and free jazz communities of Europe and beyond, earning
widespread praise on both sides of the Atlantic, working with internationally
acclaimed artists including Hamid Drake, Elaine Mitchener, Jason Yarde, Majid
Bekkas, Pat Thomas and Mark Sanders. He has numerous headline appearances from
Ronnie Scott's to London Jazz Fest, also supporting jazz legend Cécile McLorin
Salvant at Cadogan Hall for the London Jazz Festival. As a composer, he has
been commissioned by the BBC, Aldeburgh Festival, Flatpack Film Festival and
Symphony Hall Birmingham, and also appeared twice at the BBC Proms.
On A Modern Genius (Vol.1) will be released on 10th January 2025
on CD and all digital platforms with Stoney Lane Records.
Pre-order On A Modern Genius (Vol. 1) HERE
Connect with Xhosa Cole: Facebook
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