The Vortex presents Renell Shaw’s The Windrush Suite for Livestream broadcast
Mike Flynn
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Music and images combine with multi-instrumentalist Shaw joined by guests such as vibist Orphy Robinson MBE and cellist/singer Ayanna Witter-Johnson
A new body of work, The Windrush Suite, composed and performed by multi-instrumentalist Renell Shaw, and special guests, is set to be broadcast live at 8pm on 22 June to mark Windrush Day. The music will be presented across several social media platforms and will be accompanied by a specially created montage of visuals and introduced by Jazzwise writer and broadcaster Kevin Le Gendre and internationally renowned bassist Dave Holland.
Shaw performs much of the music himself on piano, guitar, bass and percussion, while the band features guest appearances by top UK vibes player Orphy Robinson MBE, superb cellist/vocalist Ayanna Witter-Johnson plus rising talents such as Samson Jatto (drums), Taurean Antoine-Chargar (saxophones), Nandi (lead vocals) and Delycia Belgrave (backing vocals) who have come through the Vortex’s The Shape of Jazz To Come sessions.
The pieces are inspired by the men, women and children, who latterly became known as the ‘Windrush Generation’, with the music paying homage to their complex origins, exploring “their lives ‘away’, their longings, loves, disappointments, and will to survive”.
The rich diasporic musical traditions of the Caribbean find contemporary expression in Shaw’s work, as well as new home in a melting pot of bubbling creativity. The specially commissioned tracks will be available for download on Vortex Jazz Club on Bandcamp and is supported PRS for Music Foundation, in association with The Vortex Jazz Club/The Shape of Jazz to Come.
An access link will be posted here www.vortexjazz.co.uk/