Improvisers' Ensemble featuring Cleveland Watkiss MBE

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

Expect an exploration of Jamaican Dub & Free Improvisation. The performance will utilise visuals, and live re-sampling techniques, with an element of audience participation. As Watkiss says, "think King Tubby meets Joe Harriott in London". Various grooves from the Black-British, African, and Caribbean diasporas will be generated through workshops with the Ensemble leading up to the concert.

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 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.

Performers

Guildhall Improvisers' Ensemble
Cleveland Watkiss MBE vocalist