Exciting Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Jean Toussaint, whose blistering technique, lyrical sound and compelling musical vision have earned him international acclaim. Best known for his years with Art Blakey’s legendary Jazz Messengers, Jean has built an outstanding career as a composer, bandleader, educator and one of the most respected voices in contemporary jazz.
Jean Toussaint’s “JT5” is his current working band. Their repertoire is mainly made up of Toussaint and other band members originally compositions with some choice standards uniquely rearranged and thrown in for good measure. Led from the front by Toussaint, the band’s style hinges on a mixture of rich swinging, grooving, bluesing and funking situations gleaned from his years of experience starting at his days as a jazz messenger through to today, while exploring different facets of the complete story along the way.
Born on the Caribbean island of Aruba and raised in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, he studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston before leaving in 1982 to join the Jazz Messengers, where he spent four and a half transformative years performing alongside some of jazz’s finest musicians, including Terence Blanchard and Mulgrew Miller, while also working with Gil Evans, McCoy Tyner and Wynton Marsalis.
Throughout his career, Toussaint has collaborated with an extraordinary range of artists, including Max Roach, Cedar Walton, David Murray, Eddie Henderson, Donald Brown, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Julian Joseph, Jason Rebello, Cleveland Watkiss, Bheki Mseleku, Tony Remy, Orphy Robinson and Troy Miller.
Art Blakey used to say ‘it doesn’t matter how complex you want to play, as long as you swing and play from the heart’ then he’d cite the great John Coltrane as an example. I owe it all to the great Art Blakey and I’ll be a Jazz Messenger for life.
Jean Toussaint
Opening: Nnamdi Nnachi Cole Quartet.
Nnamdi Nnachi-Cole is a young pianist with a beautiful flowing integrity of sound. His ballad playing is insightful and mature coupled with an effortless urgency when the music is powerful and fast pace. Trained at the esteemed Julian Joseph Jazz Academy, Nnamdi is already turning heads and attracting positive waves as one of the newest emerging stars on the London jazz scene. Ellis Gates is a young and upcoming jazz drummer; a two time finalist of the Zildjian young drummer of the year competition, he has an amazing sound on the drums. He’s heavily influenced by Roy Haynes, Art Blakey and Tony Williams. Hass Richards is a self-taught guitarist and bassist influenced by R&B, gospel, and jazz. After studying Biological Sciences at university, he attended the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy, where he transitioned from guitar to upright bass. He has performed at venues such as the Vortex, the 606 Club, World Heart Beat, and the National Theatre, while also teaching guitar and bass across London. Kassa Green Jaksci is an alto saxophonist whose expressive improvisation and original compositions have made him one of the city’s most exciting emerging jazz talents. Influenced by artists including Kenny Garrett and Immanuel Wilkins, he has performed at venues and festivals such as the Barbican, the 606 Club and Brick Lane Jazz Festival. He is currently studying at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama while also attending the Tomorrow’s Warriors jazz programme.
