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Developing a curatorial voice
This has historically focused on young artists from diverse backgrounds, with a commitment to inclusivity and professional development, re-enforcing the Festival’s reputation as an investor in young artists, nurturing cultural leaders and ensuring our own continued evolution and relevance in the artistic landscape.
This platform provides crucial early-career experience, helping to develop a curatorial voice, expand professional networks and gain practical skills that support long-term artistic careers. Our guest curators bring fresh perspectives, innovative approaches and push boundaries. They learn about audiences, marketing, and development with hands on experience, creating a critical stepping stone in their artistic journey. The platform of working within a long-established Festival also offers credibility and the opportunity to take risks that otherwise might take years to build independently.
For the Festival, engaging young and diverse curators ensures that our programming remains dynamic, relevant, and reflective of contemporary cultural conversations. These curators often have unique insights into underrepresented communities, emerging art forms, and pressing social issues, helping the festival attract new audiences and stay culturally engaged. Their perspectives can lead to groundbreaking, thought-provoking programming that resonates with younger and more diverse demographics, broadening the Festival’s appeal.
Ayanna Witter Johnson
Singer-songwriter and cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson successfully navigates the opposing worlds of classical and contemporary music. A graduate of the Laban School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music, she has toured with Anoushka Shankar and Courtney Pine, recorded with Akala and composed for the London Symphony Orchestra. Her musical career has seen her winning the acclaimed amateur night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, gaining a MOBO Award nomination and getting airplay on BBC Radio 1 and BBC 1Xtra. Able to straddle both worlds effortlessly because of her musical prowess, non-compromising lyrics and ability to deftly reinterpret songs on the cello, Ayanna is the definition of an eclectic soul.
Soweto Kinch
Award winning alto-saxophonist and MC Soweto Kinch is one of the most exciting and versatile young musicians in both the British jazz and hip-hop scenes. Undoubtedly, one of the few artists in either genre with a degree in Modern History from Oxford University he has amassed an impressive list of accolades and awards on both sides of the Atlantic – including a Mercury Music Prize nomination, two UMA Awards and a MOBO for best Jazz Act in 2003. In October 2007, he won his second MOBO Award, at the O2 Arena, London where he was announced as the winner in the Best Jazz Act category – fending off stiff competition from the likes of Wynton Marsalis.
Dennis Rollins MBE
A passionate performer and educator, British trombone player Dennis Rollins MBE has established a reputation as an artist of excellence, and has lent his unique and stylish talents to some of this country’s, and indeed the world’s top jazz and pop personalities such as Courtney Pine, Maceo Parker, Jamiroquai, US3, The Brand New Heavies, Blur, Monty Alexander, Pee Wee Ellis and Jean Toussaint, amongst others.
As a bandleader, in 2006 his jazz/funk outfit Badbone & Co won a prestigious BBC Jazz Award in the Best Band category. In the following year he picked up both Trombonist of the Year at the British Jazz Awards and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Awards. Dennis was nominated twice in the 2008 Parliamentary Jazz Awards for Jazz Musician of the Year and for Jazz Education; he won the latter. As part of Her Majesty the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2018, Dennis was honoured with an MBE for Services to music. Most recently in June 2022, he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Wales, UK. A sought after jazz educationalist, Dennis has worked in collaboration with many of the UK’s university and colleges delivering a wide range of music programmes and performance workshops.
Zoe Rahman
A vibrant and highly individual pianist and composer, Zoe Rahman’s style is deeply rooted in jazz yet it reflects her classical background, British/Bengali heritage and her very broad musical taste. Known for her powerful technique, wide-ranging imagination and exuberant performance, she has become a highly sought-after musician, working most recently with the likes of George Mraz, Courtney Pine and Jerry Dammers’ Spatial AKA Orchestra, and releasing a series of highly acclaimed albums of her own music including several collaborations with her brother Idris Rahman. The Guardian said of her latest release, Colour of Sound, “Rahman’s playing is always intricate and surprising. An outstanding, bravura set.”
A MOBO Award winner, Mercury Prize nominee, Jazz FM Award nominee and British Jazz Award winner, Zoe has established herself as a unique presence in the British music industry as a featured artist on many TV and radio programmes and has played at numerous international jazz festivals.
Alex Wilson
Alex is an award-winning British born pianist, producer and videographer with nine solo albums and over a hundred video productions. He combines artistic flair with technical mastery to create emotions through music and film. He has produced for numerous artists and as a performer, Alex has appeared in over 60 countries with artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Courtney Pine and many more.
Jay Phelps
Trumpeter, composer, band leader, educator and writer – Jay Phelps has performed with some of the world’s top names. With an instantly recognisable warm and projecting tone, Canadian born Phelps is a household name on the Jazz scene in the UK and his international presence is steadily growing. From his own quartet to his other projects NBOC and SoulEndvr, Phelps, who is never idle, remains fresh and full of new ideas and concepts. While living in Vancouver, Phelps was tutored by the city’s top jazz and classical trumpeters. He distinguished himself early on as the youngest band-leader in the Vancouver International Jazz Festival’s history at age 15. In 1999, aged 17, Jay moved to London and immersed himself in the jazz scene immediately.
Jay has performed and recorded with a veritable Who’s Who of international and famed jazz artists such as Courtney Pine, Andrew Hill, Wynton Marsalis, Ray Brown, John Hendricks, Nasheet Waits, George Benson, Jamie Cullum, Sir John Dankworth, Jean Toussaint, Dennis Rollins, Guy Barker, Amy Winehouse, Charlotte Church, Sam Moore, Hugh Masakela, Jazz Jamaica, Mighty Sparrow, Soweto Kinch, Skatroniks, Ska Cubano, Chineke Orchestra, David Murray and Liv Warfield.
Gabby Young
Gabby Young fronts a flamboyant eight-piece British pop band, bringing together ragtime, jazz and Balkan influences. Praised for her live shows, Young is a classically-trained singer who crowd-funded her first album to the top of Amazon’s download charts. Her ability to lead a band that includes brass, banjo and accordion is a testament to her versatility as an artist.
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