Featuring Shabaka Hutchings (tenor saxophone), Gontse Makhene (percussions), Tumi Mogorosi (drums), Mthunzi Mvubu (alto saxophone), Ariel Zamonsky (bass), Siyabonga Mthembu (lead voice).

Inspired by The Sun Ra Arkestra and Afro-futurism, Shabaka and the Ancestors are pushing jazz forward. Shabaka Hutchings is an acclaimed bandleader and prolific saxophonist on the London jazz scene; a descendant of the American free jazz tradition (Coltrane, Sanders, Sun Ra), who also holds African and Caribbean music high on his list of influences.

After his scorching Sydney Festival turn with The Comet Is Coming in 2017, Hutchings returns, this time accompanied by South Africa’s best jazz players, The Ancestors. The group recorded their debut album Wisdom of the Elders in a single day, releasing it on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood label.

Shabaka and the Ancestors draw from eclectic influences beyond the jazz greats, such as central African song structures and traditional Southern African Nguni hymns, while also injecting elements of the blues and Caribbean calypso.

As Islington Assembly Hall put it, “Shabaka and the Ancestors bring rich, intense music to every performance. Their melodies intertwine in a dance-like fashion, and their songs flow freely with rolling waves of sound. This promises to be the ultimate show for jazz enthusiasts.”

Expect a live experience of jaw-dropping musicianship, the hypnotic vocals of South African singer Siyabonga Mthembu, and an entirely unique repertoire.