'One of the most exciting new voices in British jazz boiling the mix from straightahead to hip hop with a fresh precocious creativity.' Echoes

Winner of the White Foundation International Saxophonist of the Year Award at the Montreux Jazz Festival 2002, and the Rising Star gong at the BBC Radio Jazz Awards, Soweto Kinch is one of the most exciting and versatile young musicians to hit the British jazz scene in recent years.

In July 2003 he joined others at the Klaipeda Castle Jazz Festival to give performances and classes to the students of Klaipeda University Jazz Department and any other jazz musicians wishing to take part. From 30 to 50 musicians take part in the jazz mastership classes every year and, with their proficiency and intercultural experience, they inspire and enrich young musicians.

Klaipeda University is the only university in the Baltic countries offering a Jazz Music Major degree. Their jazz mastership classes (so called jazz workshops) are very important for the future of jazz music in the Baltics. The British Council supports jazz music projects for Klaipeda Castle Jazz Festivals in order to make it possible for young local musicians to develop their talents in a way which would not otherwise be open to them.

Soweto Kinch is essentially a self-taught musician who has supplemented his musical education by gathering information from books and transcribing jazz recordings. He has also been fortunate to attract the attention of two of the most important jazz luminaries in Britain: saxophonist Courtney Pine OBE and double bassist Gary Crosby, both of whom are now key mentors. In addition to the alto saxophone, Soweto plays soprano, tenor and baritone saxophones, bass clarinet, and piano. He also raps and is competent on the computer, using sequencers such as Cubase, Logic Audio, and Sibelius. Soweto's musical influences are as broad as they are diverse. The Jamaican music which he listened to with his family is a powerful one, but most recently Soweto has been influenced by baroque and early classical music due to an interest he has in the 17th and 18th century black population of Britain.

More information on Soweto Kinch.