LONDON, UK (Indiego Jazz Promotions/ www.dune-music.com) - The British alto saxophonist and rapper Soweto Kinch received the award for Best Jazz Act 2004 at the UK's Urban
Music Awards held Tuesday, November 9th at The Barbican Centre, London bringing to eight the number of honors this remarkable young alto saxophonist/rapper has won during the course of his short but already illustrious career.
Soweto Kinch received the award for Best Jazz Act 2004 at the Urban Music Awards held Tuesday, November 9th at The Barbican Centre, London bringing to eight the number of honors this remarkable young alto saxophonist/rapper has won during the course of his short but already illustrious career.
The Urban Music Awards celebrate 100% British-based urban music and underground dance music culture and this year's event was held in aid of the children's charity, UNICEF. All categories in these prestigious awards are nominated and voted for online by the public.
Following a massive public vote in his favour, Soweto fought off competition from fellow nominees Jamie Cullum, Damien Bell and Jess Hudson.
Unfortunately, Soweto was not able to collect the award in person as he was stuck on a defective train en route from Birmingham to London! However, band member and label mate, Abram Wilson collected the award on his behalf which was presented by the pioneering acid jazz vocalist, Omar.
SOME RECENT U.S. PRESS:
A blazing young alto player. One of the best-sounding new jazz groups I've heard lately. - The New York Times
[Kinch's mix of skill, cleverness and an endearing dash of brashness combine into a sense of joy...The two sides of Conversations With The Unseen, hip-hop and jazz, and the points at which they converge, make this album one of the most purely enjoyable I have heard this year. - OneFinalNote.com
Finally! A young British jazz musician worth yapping about...[Kinch displays a charismatic confidence and a willingness to contextualize modern jazz for the hip-hop generation, which makes his music a bit more refreshing than boilerplate bebop...[his remarkable musicality creeps on you with each listen, exhibiting a potential that will be far long-lasting than any 'flash in the pan' MTV darling. - BETJazz.com
If there's anyone who still believes that musicians from other nations don't swing as hard as Americans, this group should convince them otherwise. The effort [to get the album is worth making; Soweto Kinch is that good. - allaboutjazz.com
Kinch knows the tradition, from Charlie Parker to Greg Osby. But he also kicks it as a lyricist, as evidenced on the Roots-like jams. - amazon.com (US)
