Acclaimed young saxophonist Xhosa Cole is to release his third album with Birmingham's Stoney Lane Records - a dynamic live recording celebrating the work of transcendent pianist Thelonious Monk, with inventive interpretations of Monk's timeless compositions.
Following his much-admired debut K(no)w Them, K(no)w Us (2021), and intriguing concept recording Ibeji (2022) - featuring Cole in duets with seven percussionists from across the African diaspora, this new release captures Cole with his quartet during an extensive spring tour of the UK in 2023 playing the music of Monk.
Opening with the iconic melody Trinkle-Tinkle, the album also features American tap dancer Liberty Styles on four tracks. "My early roots are in African dance and so when tap dancer Liberty Styles and I saw that she was dancing what I was hearing (and they saw that I was playing what they were feeling) we knew this was a musical connection to life. This album is a celebration of friendship, joy and improvisation - it's a snapshot into the love that you can only find on the road with friends."
The seven tracks of On A Modern Genuis (Vol.1) weave together nine Monk tunes, with the album closing with Duke Ellington's Come Sunday, featuring celebrated vocalist Heidi Vogel singing on a piece she and Cole played together at the BBC Proms. "Ellington has such a strong musical resonance with Monk," notes Cole."I wanted to honour these tunes that have given so much to this vast family tree that is music, and to celebrate their composer, a person who epitomised grace."
In the three years since the release of his debut album K(no)w Them, K(no)w Us on Stoney Lane Records, Cole's career has launched into the contemporary classical and free jazz communities of Europe and beyond, earning widespread praise on both sides of the Atlantic, working with internationally acclaimed artists including Hamid Drake, Elaine Mitchener, Jason Yarde, Majid Bekkas, Pat Thomas and Mark Sanders. He has numerous headline appearances from Ronnie Scott's to Pizza Express, also supporting jazz legend Cecile McLorin Salvant at Cadogan Hall for the London Jazz Festival. As a composer, he has been commissioned by the BBC, Aldeburgh Festival, Flatpack Film Festival and Symphony Hall Birmingham, and also appeared twice at the BBC Proms.
"A British sensation and proves that he's here for blood with this release...He's got technique, talent, artistry and a burning desire that shows throughout the set."- Downbeat
Press:
"By missing the piano out Xhosa is able to use the musicians in a different and more balanced way and also give the audience the opportunity to hear the music afresh somewhat disconnected from previously recorded versions." - ***** UK Vibe
"An erudite young sax master, Cole sounds as if he's already way down the road, but with plenty of fascinating detours to go." - **** The Guardian
"One of the UK's most exciting improvisers...Cole's impressionistic takes on Monk staples are some of the freshest you'll hear - freewheeling, playful and richly expressive - true to the composer's spirit." - **** Jazzwise
"It's a satisfying set, brimful of the shared delight in improvisation that Monk seems to trigger so reliably in suitably talented interpreters...The secret sauce for this Monk tribute, though, is Liberty Styles' brilliant tap dancing. This draws attention to the rhythmic subtleties of the music, emphasising Monk's deep understanding of that percussive tradition." - UK Jazz News
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