Cotham Club presents: Namvula at Cotham Parish Church

About

Soulful Afro-folk-pop.

An exuberant, emotive and uplifting global sound, effortlessly weaving together traditional Zambian music with Latin jazz and folk-pop.

Namvula: vocals, guitar
Chris Williams: saxophone, flute
Jack Ross: lead guitar
Liran Donin: bass
Mamadou Sarr: percussion
Eddie Hick: drums

Hailed 'a true original' by The Guardian, Zambian-Scottish Namvula Rennie brings her captivating vocals and undeniable songwriting talent to an adventurous and distinctive world music fusion set that switches from gently soulful balladry to rolling highlife dance pieces and stomping jazz-rock.

Singing in a bewildering variety of languages – including her native Lenje, Zambian Chilenje, Nyanja and Ila, as well as English, French and Portuguese – and supported by a crack band 'packed to the rafters with talent' (BBC Late Junction) – including virtuosic bassist Liran Donin, a member of cutting-edge Mercury Prize-nominated jazz-rock quintet Led Bib, and Baaba Maal's outstanding percussionist Mamadou Sarr – her songs sparkle.

One of the few Zambian artists performing in Europe, Namvula has shared the stage with legendary performers such as South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela, multi-award-winning Zambian vocalist Maureen Lilanda, and sitar player Anoushka Shankar, daughter of the late Ravi Shankar.