Kokoroko – Kokoroko

Kokoroko is a young collective of musicians, based in London, fusing contempory jazz, deep grooves  and West African influences, notably the Ghanaian Highlife style of Ebo Taylor and the Afrobeat of Tony Allen and Fela Kuti.

Kokoroko is composed of eight members. Led by trumpeter and visual artist Sheila Maurice-Grey, the instrumental group is fronted by an all-female horn and voice section, with Cassie Kinoshi on saxophone and Richie Seivwright on trombone. Oscar Jerome (guitar), Yohan Kebede (keyboard), Mutale Chashi (bass), Ayo Salawu (drums) and Onome Edgeworth (percussion) complete the line-up.

Their compositions, mainly rooted in Afrobeat, blend in jazz, funk, traditional West African music, Jamaican rhythms and the delicate sounds of the Latin lands, and spread organically in this musical paradigm they call Kokoroko, which in the Urhobo language (a Nigerian dialect) means "to be strong".

Tracklist

  -A /Adwa/Ti-De
  -B /Uman/Abusey Junction/