Shabaka

Of The Earth

In recent years, the most vital, inclusive, and innovative jazz scene on earth has shifted east across the Atlantic to London, and the figure that stands atop this revolution is Shabaka (formerly known as Shabaka Hutchings). The former leader of the heralded conglomerations Sons of Kemet, Shabaka and the Ancestors, and The Comet is Coming, Shabaka returns to SFJAZZ with music from his 2026 release Of the Earth — an innovative and adventurous solo recording that marks both his return to the saxophone and his immersion into electronic beats and loops that has opened new worlds for exploration.  

A multi-faceted instrumentalist and composer whose influence has spread far beyond the U.K., the Birmingham-raised Hutchings spent the formative years of his youth in Barbados, an island rife with reminders of Britain’s colonial history, where the budding artist first picked up the saxophone and where the seeds of his creative aesthetic in the roots of the African diaspora were planted. 

Bristling with raw energy and deep spiritual power, Of the Earth was inspired by the solo producer-auteur approach of the late D’Angelo and points to Shabaka’s vision for his future relationship with the instrument, allowing him to fully embrace new sonic realms and chart new expressive paths, each marked by resonances from the ancient past while feeling resolutely of the moment.  

Live shows for this project are inspired by hip-hop performances where the track booms through the system while the MC commands the stage. Playing both saxophone and flutes, Shabaka envisions a hybrid laboratory: stems dissected in real time, synthesizers and samplers manipulated onstage, improvisation layered over familiar frameworks. Often performing as a duo — with drummer/producer pairing shifting as the tour evolves — he aims for elasticity. No two nights alike. Landmarks within the set, yes, but freedom inside them.