jazz

The singer Enji gives her jazz conservatory education a twist by breaking open its structures and drawing from her background in thousand-year-old Mongolian folk tradition. In conversation with NBHAP, the artist talks about her new album "Ulaan" and explores the personal connection to the color red and how trust and communal singing shaped the music.

"when the poems do what they do" is the title of the debut record by poet and organizer aja monet and it takes us on a musical and lyrical journey of what words can do. From ancestry to political activism and vulnerable self-expression, the record is a document of the true power of poetry and jazz. In our conversation, aja shares detailed insights about the visions behind it.

Berlin-based sound artist and singer Dumama has a special relationship to XJAZZ!. Following the event in May, Dumama now shares a live video of their performances. Working with the body and voice as modes of tapping into ancestral vibrations, Dumama collaborates with many artists across Berlin's boundary-pushing music scene. Read her personal reflections on the festival below.

The alternative jazz singer muva of Earth graced the stage at Berlin's XJAZZ! festival with their voice and tranquility of their harp-playing. Based in London, the artist draws on their Yoruba roots and embraces serenity and spirituality in their music. With only a few releases so far, muva of Earth crystalises a distinct artistic voice incorporating afrofuturistic rhythms and horns.

One of Britain’s rising jazz musicians, the acclaimed London act delivered one of the most brimming shows at this year’s XJAZZ! edition in Berlin. We caught up for a quick chat with the artist after the show to talk about the British scene and what it means to honour the legacy of jazz music.

On his new release "Variables", Alfa Mist explores themes of identity inspecting its creation by means of reflection and retrospection. NBHAP editor Felicia met with the Newham jazz and hip-hop producer to talk about perspectives of positive pessimism as well as his understanding and appreciation for life and the joy of missing out.

A Song For You is a Berlin-based choir project that unites more than fifty singers. Centering BIPoC voices, the choir provides a space for connecting and exploring the joys of communal singing. Anna Grubauer met Noah Slee, who is part of the founding team, and choreographer Stephanie Ilova for a chat in Berlin after their sold out debut show "The Matriarch".

The Berliner festival, XJAZZ!, is known for bending definitions of jazz. Considering it a word of freedom rather than a narrow genre description, its line-up features international artists with different takes on jazz. We spoke to headliner and South Londoner Rapper Nadia Rose about her music and its connection to the genre.