Queer Jazz series showcases new jazz names at Woolwich Works

Queer Jazz is a three-part series and celebration of LGBTQIA+ jazz artists in London, hosted by Tina Edwards and Jelly Cleaver, and, according to their press release, aims to “foster community and give a platform to both established and rising artists, through live music, jams and panels”.

The series gets underway on Thursday 15 June with a double bill of vocalist Eliza Oakes and trio Faker Villain. Born-and-bred South London, Oakes is a vocalist and songwriter who has been sparking interest from all spectrums of the music media, such as Clash Magazine, Soho Radio, Worldwide FM and Hoxton Radio. Faker Villain features Faye Thompson on saxophone, bass clarinet and electronics, Kavi Maraj on bass and electronics, and Dillon Harrison on drums and percussion. Their improvised performances combine spontaneous, genre-splicing sounds from electronica, jazz, Hindustani classical, ambient and proggressive-metal among others.

Things continue on Thursday 13 July with a double bill of fast rising bassist, singer and songwriter Isobella Burnham plus guitarist/singer Jelly Cleaver with her Jelly's Jams project.

Burnham is a based in South London but grew up in Barbados where she soaked up the rich musical culture and started exploring Caribbean rhythms in her music. Cleaver joins forces with the BIPOC and queer-led house band for a jam session.

The series closes on Thursday 17 August with performances from margomool and Akin Soul.  Blurring boundaries between genres, gender, audience and performer, margomool is a 21-year-old jazz and soul singer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. David Ijishakin, aka Akin Soul, studied jazz at Trinity Laban and plays trombone, keys and guitar, and is already making a name for himself via performances with Steam Down and McNasty's Fireball Sessions.

Commenting on the series Faker Villain's Faye Thompson said:  "I'm just one voice in this project, which is all about bringing our experiences and backgrounds together through music, and I know that my experiences of life through a queer lens come through as part of that. That's what we're celebrating with this series of events: music made through a queer lens, and I'm so excited to showcase not just the way that influences our music, but the whole variety of ways in which queerness can influence jazz".

"This is a chance to show people our work while I get to say ‘Hey, I'm here, and I'm just like you’. Growing up, I always got so excited and encouraged in my own work if I found out that musicians I look up to and loved were queer, especially in jazz music where that's maybe not so obvious a lot of the time - mostly no lyrics! It's an important spotlight on the queer musicians in this scene and I'm so proud to be taking part.”

For full details and tickets visit www.woolwich.works/whats-on/category/queer-jazz-series