Shabaka [atibaphoto]

THERE is no stronger indicator of jazz’s current ascendancy than the introduction of a new nightly show (Mon-Fri) on BBC Radio 3 called Round Midnight, hosted by Soweto Kinch and dedicated to this once widely derided genre. I listened to several of the broadcasts in the first week and Soweto – an accomplished tenor player and rapper – is a warm, inviting and, of course, knowledgeable presenter, with an admirably broad choice of music that ranges far and wide, but always includes generous helpings of home-grown talent. It’s well worth catching, either live, or, if 11.30pm is past your bedtime, on BBC Sounds.

One of the key architects of the current jazz renaissance was Shabaka Hutchings with his bands The Comet is Coming and Sons of Kemet. I still recall the awesome power of his saxophone when I caught the former at Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Festival in Sète, France, the hypnotic riffs blasting across the night sky like aural fireworks. So, like many, I was surprised and a little bereft when Shabaka (he has a single name now) announced he was laying down his saxophone in favour of the flute.

He has spoken extensively about this somewhat surprising decision, and it boils down to this: he felt he had exhausted the possibilities of his sax playing (for now, at least) and he wanted to challenge himself and move the music forward into pastures new.

After initial disappointment I found myself admiring the courage of the change and enjoying the music he produced late last year. Shabaka is eloquent, erudite and impassioned about his craft and his questing reminds me of John Coltrane’s search for a spiritual enlightenment in his music.

Shabaka’s path, though, is far gentler and more ethereal than Coltrane’s latter take-no-prisoners cosmic explorations, creating serene, ambient soundscapes often featuring the fiendishly difficult shakuhachi, an end-blown Japanese bamboo flute.

You can hear his new direction on the just-released album Perceive its Beauty, Acknowledge its Grace (Impulse!), which has a raft of star guests, including Outkast’s Andre 3000, another recent convert to the flute, and Shabaka’s father, reading one of his poems on the last track. It’s an involving album that really rewards repeated listening (just as a guide, if you enjoy Matthew Halsall’s more meditative tracks, you’ll love this).

Shabaka brings his shakuhachi (and no doubt some of his 64 other flutes and possibly his dad) to The Barbican on May 9 for what should be an intriguing concert, marking a new beginning for him and his fans. Details: https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2024/event/shabaka

If you fancy more ambient/spiritual jazz, then check out harpist Amanda Whiting at Camden’s Jazz Café on May 9. Her album, The Liminality of Her, is more balm for the soul and the gig is its official launch.

Also, advance notice: the Jazz Café is producing its own festival, down at Burgess Park in SE5 on September 15, with the piano/electronica of Nils Frahm topping the bill and Gilles Peterson, among many others, on the decks. More details of both events: https://thejazzcafelondon.com

Also recommended, as The Roundhouse in the Round Festival reaches its final weekend, is the eclectic and electric Matana Roberts, who is co-headlining with artist/sculptor/singer Lonnie Holley on April 26 for an evening that could go anywhere but will likely feature Roberts’ remarkably powerful and expressive alto playing and her skilful, emotionally charged storytelling.

Holley, the seventh of 27 children born in dire poverty in Alabama, explores the Black American experience through song and anyone familiar with Roberts’ remarkable Coin Coin album sequence – which deals with, among many other things, the legacy of slavery, the Roberts family history, black political activism and the ongoing struggle against racism – might have a decent guess at how these two artists will coalesce.

Tuba maestro Theon Cross was added to the bill last week, adding some trademark low-end grunt to the proceedings. Details of all remaining events in the festival: https://www.roundhouse.org.uk/series/in-the-round-festival

The Brick Lane Jazz Festival (April 26-28) returns, with the usual mix of established and up and coming stars and a link-up with Tomorrow’s Warriors, the crucible for so many new-wave jazzers, which will feature in several settings.

This year it also features a takeover by The Silhouettes Project on April 26. This is a jazz-adjacent hip-hop collective co-founded by rappers Jaden Osei-Bonsu (Eerf Evil) and Asher Korner (Asher Kosher) and has featured Kojey Radical (who appeared with them at a recent, storming, sold-out Koko gig). Details of it and other acts (which include the likes of Oscar Jerome, Theo Croker, Greg Foat, Rob Luft, Chip Wickham, Byron Wallen and many more) on https://www.bricklanejazzfestival.com/

Honestly, it’s a festival well worth heading East for. The Silhouettes Project features fine up and coming trumpeter Poppy Daniels in the horn line-up, who is also playing at the Speak No Evil night at The Hootananny in Brixton (billed as “A Night of Explosive Contemporary Live Jazz”) on May 1. Details: https://hootanannybrixton.co.uk/speak-no-evil-5/.

Two top-class musicians featured in these pages recently are playing locally over the next few weeks. Guitarist David Preston is bringing his trio to The Parakeet in Kentish Town and introducing new material on April 29 (https://jazzattheparakeet.com/) and drummer Clark Tracey’s quintet of rising stars is at Lauderdale House on May 16 (https://www.lauderdalehouse.org.uk/whats-on/Clark-Tracey). Both are worthy of your time and money (and both gigs are excellent value for this calibre of jazz).

Finally, the Equinox Quartet’s first-Sunday-of-the-month afternoon residency at MAP Studios on Grafton Road (NW5 3DU) has been extended, thanks to enthusiastic and full houses for their classic bop/post-bop jazz, mostly drawn from the fifties and sixties. Next up, May 5, 2pm, with free entry. Details: http://mapstudiocafe.com/