Improvisers' Ensemble featuring Cleveland Watkiss MBE

Join internationally renowned vocalist and composer, Cleveland Watkiss MBE, for an electric performance with Guildhall's Improvisers' Ensemble.

As a Guildhall Fellow, this will be Cleveland Watkiss's second performance in a long-term Guildhall residency.

Born in Hackney, East London, Watkiss was one of the co-founders of the vastly influential Jazz Warriors Big Band. He has spent decades redefining the possibilities of jazz and improvisation, winning the London Jazz Award for Best Vocalist in 2010 and being voted best vocalist for three consecutive years at the Wire/Guardian Jazz Awards.

He has performed with artists including Wynton Marsalis, Bob Dylan, Jackie Mittoo, Keith Richards, Art Blakey, Sly & Robbie, Abdullah Ibrahim, Stevie Wonder, Nigel Kennedy and many more.

The Guardian music journalist, John Fordham, accurately describes him as "arriving on the scene with a bang".

Performers

Guildhall Improvisers' Ensemble
Cleveland Watkiss MBE vocalist