April 30, 2026 |
Last weekend, jazz lovers from far and wide flocked to Shoreditch’s buzzing streets for Brick Lane Jazz Festival – a four day exploration of the far-reaching realms of jazz, electronic and other music genres from all over the world. Inaugurated in 2022, the festival has bloomed over the past four years, expanding from four venues to 12 for this most recent edition. This year also saw the introduction of the first Brick Lane Jazz Festival conference, which hosted a series of panels, workshops and talks with key industry players.
Across the weekend, figureheads like Gary Crosby OBE (the founder of jazz mentoring charity Tomorrow’s Warriors known for coaching members of Mercury Prize winning quintet Ezra Collective), jazz-funk pioneer Brian Jackson and Women In Jazz founder Lou Paley discussed topics like accessibility, migration and online navigation, lending an insider insight into an often opaque industry. Taking place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning, the conference was swiftly followed by a stuffed schedule of live music, offering up the full spoils of a scene brimming with talent and groove.
Attendees flowed through popular East London haunts like 93 Feet East and Cafe 1001 to see Bombay Jungle Sound System shell sounds that blended Bhangra with sharp breaks, or German-Nigerian producer IAmNobodi slide through the smoky, sexy melodies of his most recent LP Duality & Devotion. Or there was South London native JGrrey, whose talent for a resonant tune means she still pulls packed crowds three years on from her last release. Not to mention house and disco-informed collective Girls Of The Internet. Embracing all corners of the jazz ecosystem, this joyful weekender touched on everything from the most traditional takes to the most offbeat iterations, and it was all the better for it. Here, we delve into some of our favourite performances of the four day fest.
From Profit to People: Reimagining the Role of the Artist & Communities in Today’s World
Kicking off Saturday’s arrangements at 12:00pm, this community-focused discussion was moderated by Eerf Evil, the South London artist and community organiser responsible for co-founding 50-person jazz and hip-hop collective Silhouettes Project. Sitting alongside him was DJ and producer Toddla T, co-executive director of Earth Percent, Cathy Runciman, artist Santiago Morales and performer Roxanne Tataei. Over the course of the next hour and a half, these musicheads offered up diverse perspectives on the positive impact of community organising in an industry plagued by prioritising profit over people. It was inspiring, informed and left you feeling hopeful about the path towards a more equitable future. No notes.
Anaiis and Grupo Cosmo
Performing on Friday evening at Village Underground, French-Senegalese artist Anaiis and Brazilian band Grupo Cosmo teamed up for a performance that moved their adoring crowd to tears. Describing her sound as “from the cosmos”, cross-pollination has often informed her creative process, making the partnership with Grupo Cosmo a natural fit. “I’ve lived in numerous countries and therefore I’ve been often introduced to new sounds and cultures which allowed me to rediscover myself and my sounds in new lights,” she says. After releasing an eponymous seven-track EP that explored themes like identity and motherhood in 2024, the partnership accrued fans deeply invested in their movingly intimate work, and energy in the room was reflective of this. Fans watched attentively as Anaiis’ resonant vocals swum effortlessly on top of swelling, layered instrumentals, each track greeted with focus. The audience was locked in, and for good reason. This was a scene of undeniable talent coming together, with a sweet aftertaste of witnessing something truly special. “They teach me so much about the process of making music but also about how to move through the world with an open heart,” says Anaiis of working with Grupo Cosmo. “I love them as people so much and it makes the creative process even more rewarding.”
Yoni Mayraz
I hadn’t heard of Yoni Mayraz before the Brick Lane Jazz Festival. Redirected to his set after queues prevented us entering the stage we had planned on visiting, it ended up being one of my favourites. The best laid plans, right? Shoulder to shoulder with the crowd that had shuffled into the El Rayo stage at Juju’s Bar, the keyboardist enchanted his sea of head-boppers and toe-tappers with jazz-funk fusions with Middle Eastern flourishes and a hip-hop swagger. It was a delightful happenstance that showed Brick Lane Jazz Festival is as much a place to discover new gems as it is to catch people you’re already a fan of.
Photography courtesy of Brick Lane Jazz Festival.
