Towards the end of the 2010s, music media was abuzz with talk of the goings on in contemporary jazz in London. Young artists were bringing a range of cultural and musical influences into the form, taking it to new places – and women were at the forefront of this movement. Perhaps never and nowhere before had there been such a concentration of exceptional female artists,composers, and bandleaders in jazz.

Some of the biggest names in the London new wave of jazz include Cassie Kinoshi,  Shabaka Hutchings, Moses Boyd,  Sheila Maurice-Grey, Tenderlonious, Theon Cross, and Kamaal Williams. And, of course, Nubya Garcia, the 33-year-old Camden Town native with Guyano-Trinidadian roots. Her family was a cultured one, and encouraged Nubya's musical talent as a child with violin, viola, and singing lessons. At 10 years old, she fell in loved with jazz in general, and the saxophone in particular, and she went on to get a scholarship to Berklee School fo Music in Boston, before finishing her studies at a London conservatory.

'One of the most respected names in the new London jazz scene, Nubya has been at the forefront of the genre for the past five years.'

Huckmag

Garcia cites sax legends Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane as her greatest influences, but her music bears the hallmarks of a range of influences from influences ranging from  dubstep to reggae, cumbia to calypso, and hip hop to soul. Her music is bursting with energy and makes listeners want to move. 'Jazz was originally dance music,' she says, 'so I'm just bringing it back to its roots.'

She made her recording debut in 2017 on the independent London label  Jazz Refreshed, and released her breakthrough album  Source three years later on the major label Concord Jazz. The following year she made her Czech debut at JazzFestBrno, to enthusiastic reviews. UNI magazine wrote 'Garcia brought an inexhaustible supply of ideas to her solos, and developed them with rare elegance.'

Line-up

Nubya Garcia – saxophone