The British-Bahraini performer and composer brings her boundless musical ingenuity to a collaboration with the orchestra and its Grammy-winning Principal Conductor, Bramwell Tovey. The concert presents new orchestrations of Ahmed’s evocative, colourful works, joined by the artist and her quintet.
Hear pioneering jazz on a grand scale in what promises to be an evening to remember from the 2021 edition of the capital’s landmark jazz takeover.
In 2017, Ahmed’s break-out album, La Saboteuse, garnered acclaim from every corner of the music press and was named Jazz Album of the Year in The Wire magazine.
2020’s album Polyhymnia brought Gulf and Arabic influences to an idiosyncratic exploration of female changemakers throughout history. Recognised as a major artistic statement, Polyhymnia was voted Album of the Year at the 2020 Jazz FM Awards, with Ahmed also winning Jazz Act of the Year, swiftly followed by an Ivor Novello Award for Innovation.
London Jazz News commented, ‘I can’t recall hearing a large-scale composition as complex, sophisticated, layered, innovative and enthralling.’
Glide Magazine said, ‘This is clearly one of the most important pieces of music in any genre to appear this year.’