LONDON JAZZ FESTIVAL: TONY KOFI

Event information

Tony Kofi has played all 70 Thelonious Monk compositions in a marathon non-stop 6 hour gig with the Monk Liberation Front. He is far more than a Monk disciple though, and far more than a sax player; he is a man with one instrument and many voices, from cool and clear to fast and fluent via harsh and rasping and all done in an style that leads straight from bebop through Coltrane and out into the 21st century. Winner of the Radio 2 and 3 Jazz Award for ‘Best Jazz Line Up of the Year,’ Tony Kofi is truly a tour de force in contemporary jazz playing.
The quality of the improvisation is such that Kofi and his musician’s find a freshness and freedom in the jazz format that transcends nostalgia. The trio make a fiery, multi-layered noise, but they know when to bring it down to a whisper, such is the ingenuity of their arrangements.
‘It's inspiring to see something this good, this crafted, this spontaneous,
when you're sitting a couple of metres from the snare.’ - The Guardian
www.tonykofi.com