Two of the UK’s leading saxophonists, Denys Baptiste and Tony Kofi, reunite for Legacy: Coltrane & Cannonball, honouring the landmark partnership of Julian ‘Cannonball’ Adderley and John Coltrane.

Denys Baptiste’s colossal talent – based on a powerful technique and an ability to improvise fluently and effortlessly across a wide range of musical styles – is matched only by his unfettered energy, which takes him and his audiences into the musical stratosphere. Over the years, Denys has evolved into what Time magazine describes as ‘the icon of British jazz’, with a distinctive and immediately recognisable sound.

Tony Kofi is a British jazz multi-instrumentalist born to Ghanaian parents, adept across the full family of saxophones as well as the flute. Having ‘cut his teeth’ in the Jazz Warriors of the early ’90s, award-winning saxophonist Kofi has gone on to establish himself as a musician, teacher and composer of some authority. His fluent and fiery hard-bop style ensures he is constantly in demand on stages across the UK and beyond.

‘These two have a particular talent for capturing the magic of these two jazz legends. A treat for any Coltrane or Cannonball Adderley fans.’ Nigel Williams, Jazz FM

This event will last for approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes, including the interval.

About Denys Baptiste

Born in London of St Lucian parents, Denys Baptiste studied at London’s Guildhall School of Music under former Jazz Messenger Jean Toussaint. Spotted by veteran Jazz Warriors double bassist Gary Crosby at his Tomorrow’s Warriors jam sessions, Denys was invited to join Crosby’s band Nu Troop. Since then, he has soared in his development as a soloist and bandleader, earning enormous respect from his peers.

His talent – based on a powerful technique and an ability to improvise fluently and effortlessly across a wide range of musical styles – is matched by his unfettered energy and distinctive, immediately recognisable sound. A much sought-after soloist, Denys has played and recorded with some of the biggest names in jazz and other genres, including McCoy Tyner, Andrew Hill, Ernest Ranglin, Bheki Mseleku, Courtney Pine, Manu Dibango, Gary Crosby, Steve Williamson, Julian Joseph, Jason Rebello, Martin Taylor, Billy Higgins, Jerry Dammers, Jean Carne, Marlena Shaw, Incognito and Jazz Jamaica.

Denys is an amazingly versatile musician and, although his roots are steeped in the jazz tradition, he incorporates ideas from other musical forms and popular culture, producing a repertoire that is contemporary, multi-layered and highly accessible. He is also an enormously talented composer and arranger whose compositions have earned him considerable critical acclaim.

His 1999 debut album, Be Where You Are, earned him a Mercury Music Prize nomination for Album of the Year and a MOBO Award for Best Jazz Act. His ambitious 2003 project Let Freedom Ring!, inspired by Dr Martin Luther King’s historic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, received nominations at the BBC Jazz Awards and MOBO Awards and won Best Album at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards.

His 2017 album The Late Trane reimagined and reworked ten carefully chosen compositions from John Coltrane’s late music, balancing Baptiste’s unique artistic vision with the visceral emotions and cosmic references of Coltrane’s work. The Late Trane received four-star reviews in the national and international press and was nominated for two Jazz FM Awards.

About Tony Kofi

Tony Kofi is a British jazz multi-instrumentalist born to Ghanaian parents, and a player of the alto, baritone, soprano and tenor saxophones, as well as the flute. Having ‘cut his teeth’ in the Jazz Warriors of the early ’90s, award-winning saxophonist Tony Kofi has gone on to establish himself as a musician, teacher and composer of some authority.

As well as performing and recording with Gary Crosby’s NuTroop and Jazz Jamaica, Tony’s playing has been a feature of many bands, and artists he has worked and recorded with include US3, the World Saxophone Quartet, Courtney Pine, Donald Byrd, Eddie Henderson, the David Murray Big Band, Sam Rivers RivBe Big Band, Andrew Hill Big Band, Abdullah Ibrahim, Macy Gray, Julian Joseph Big Band, Harry Connick Jr., Byron Wallen’s Indigo, Jamaaladeen Tacuma’s Coltrane Configurations and Ornette Coleman.

His fluent and fiery hard-bop style makes him constantly in demand. He currently leads his own Tony Kofi Quartet, Tony Kofi Sphinx Trio and Future Passed Trio, and is also the co-founder, with Jonathan Gee, of the Monk Liberation Front, a group dedicated to the music of Thelonious Monk.

Tony’s latest projects see him performing with Alex Webb’s Café Society Swing, Arnie Somogyi’s Jump Monk, Larry Bartley’s JustUS Quartet, Adrian Reid Quartet, a co-led project with Alan Barnes called Aggregation, Orphy Robinson’s Bobby Hutcherson Songbook project, Alina Bzhezhinska Quartet, Jo Harrop’s Fever, Portrait of Cannonball (music dedicated to Cannonball Adderley) and Tony Kofi and the Organisation, a recent project which he co-leads on baritone saxophone.