Myele Manzanza at St James

"Jazz drummer Myele Manzanza returns to St James with bassist Jasper Høiby (Tigran Hamasayan, Richard Spaven) and visiting American gospel pianist Matthew Sheens (Ross McHenry, John Patitucci)

A founding member of Electric Wire Hustle, who has eleven solo releases to his name, and racked up tours and collaborations with Jordan Rakei, Theo Parrish, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Recloose and Amp Fiddler amongst others, Myele Manzanza is set to share ‘Crisis & Opportunity, Volume 4 – Meditations’. Having developed a strong live presence in his new London base, his band has shared stages with the likes of Hiatus Kaiyote, The Bad Plus, Alfa Mist, and drawn packed houses to esteemed venues such as The Jazz Café and Ronnie Scott’s where he hosts a monthly residency.

Over the past two years, the first three instalments of his lauded ‘Crisis & Opportunity’ record series saw Myele garner praise from Mary Anne Hobbs, Cerys Matthews, Jamie Cullum, Huey Morgan, The Guardian, Complex, Jazz FM, Lefto, Worldwide FM, Jazzwise and more. Volume 4 sees Myele revert to a purely acoustic line-up, channelling a focussed and razor-sharp return to his Jazz roots. Showcasing an incredible level of musicianship between three musicians at the top of their game – including Matthew Sheens (Ross McHenry, John Patitucci) on piano and Matt Penman (Joshua Redman, SFJAZZ Collective) on double bass – the trio exchange motifs over the length of 7 tracks."