“The 26-year-old tenor saxophonist/composer is a British sensation and proves that he’s here for blood with this release … He’s got technique, talent, artistry and a burning desire that shows throughout the set.” Downbeat

Xhosa Cole is a critically acclaimed saxophonist, flautist and composer, is one of the new rising stars of British Jazz. 

In 2018 he was awarded the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year. Xhosa went on to win numerous awards and appeared alongside jazz legends. He has also performed twice at the BBC Proms, composed music for the Flatpack Film Festival, recorded saxophone for Mahalia’s debut album, touring the UK far and wide.

Xhosa’s deep connection to the lineage of jazz has helped to establish him among the most exciting young talents in the country. His exposure to players from a range of different traditions, compounded by his strong connection to his inner-city community in Birmingham (UK), has helped to develop a fiercely unique and independent voice.

Following his celebrated debut album “K(no)w Them, K(no)w Us” (2021), Cole’s new project and album release (Stoney Lane Records, November 2022), Ibeji, features a series of disparate saxophone and percussion duets , set alongside exerts of conversations and interviews between Cole and his seven collaborators, all eminent percussionists of African descent woven into the narrative of the album. Ibeji takes its name from the Yoruba orisha (West African spirits) for ‘twins’, exploring the themes of duality, double consciousness, codes, clave, masks, brotherhood, ancestors, rituals, racism, identity, and the diverse expressions of African traditions and music throughout the diaspora.

 

“Genuinely thrilling flights of invention … a level of unaffected sincerity that’s rare in UK contemporary jazz … one of the most exciting releases of the year.”
Jazzwise

“It is the highly gifted 26-year-old saxophonist Xhosa Cole who is currently making most waves … Cole has the rich expressive range and technical skills that characterise significant soloists.” The Guardian

“It is Cole’s maturity and strong vision that freshen the content of an established jazz form and marks him as a ‘must see’” The Financial Times

“There’s absolutely nothing modest about his playing, which is madly inventive at every moment and remarkably individual for one so young.” The Telegraph