ARTISTS INCLUDE
Barnaby York NEOM entertainments & culture
“A great night with a superb team. We go again!”
Lubna El Masri NEOM entertainments and culture
“Qalb ensemble opened eyes and ears!”
Anthony Bassoulou GROUNDS Oak Hospitality
“The energy brought the venue to life and we will continue this journey together”
SEAN CORBY’S QALB ENSEMBLE
The first international Jazz group to visit NEOM, Qalb Ensemble is led by UK based trumpeter Sean Corby featuring drummer Daniel Crosby, young saxophonist Charles Rothwell, and other established and emerging UK and European Jazz stars.
On their debut performance at GROUNDS the group performed a repertoire that celebrated the 1960’s era of classic jazz recordings on the legendary BLUE NOTE label alongside more contemporary musicians and composers including Wynton Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard, Gigi Gryce, Miles Davis, and Wayne Shorter.
The group has an interchangeable line-up enabling them to perform a diverse repertoire and work with guest musicians, composers and artists from Arabic, South American, and other musical cultures and traditions.
CONJUNTO CORAZON LATIN ENSEMBLE
Infectious, danceable, and uplifting, CONJUNTO CORAZON play the music of Afro-Cuban and Puerto Rican musicians who settled in New York City and Miami in the 20th Century and created an incredible blend of musical cultures that became known as SALSA and LATIN JAZZ.
With a multi-national line up of musicians from the UK, VENEZUELA, COLOMBIA, GERMANY, USA and CUBA, CONJUNTO CORAZON will light up any concert, event, or festival with the music of Eddie Palmieri, Poncho Sanchez, Tito Puente and Fania All Stars.
LYNN ADIB
is a Syrian musician (vocals, flute, bass) who has emerged in the field of Arabic music and jazz.
Adib released her debut album Youmma, in 2018, on which she presents traditional Syrian music, Bulgarian music and contemporary jazz; In 2022, the album Nearness followed with bassist Marc Buronfosse.
She is also significantly involved in the Bedouin Burger (with Zeid Hamdan) and Yalla Queen projects. She can also be heard on albums by Stéphane Tsapis, Marc Codsi and Alexandra Ivanova.
ROBIN EUBANKS
is the premier jazz trombonist of his generation. Whether performing with his groups, Mental Images or EB3 or with The SF Jazz Collective, Dave Holland Quintet / Big Band, Robin is an artist whose impact on audiences has proven powerful and lasting.
Musically fluent, but also stylistically multilingual, the eclectic composer speaks a variety of musical “languages”. How does he do it? The key appears to be a combination of having a complete command of his craft, but also an innate gift that can sound like a combination of math and magic.
To hear him explain it:
“My compositions can morph fluidly from Swing to Funk to Latin to 11/8 or 7/4, without sounding forced or awkward. This allows me to draw upon all of my experiences. I have the freedom to create forms that unite diverse influences into new structures that are organic.”
Robin’s compositions and arrangements have been recorded by The Mingus Big Band, SF Jazz Collective, Dave Holland Quintet and Big Band, et. al. In addition, colleges and universities throughout the United States are performing Robin’s original works and have arranged and recorded his music for their ensembles. He has recorded nine albums as a leader and contributed his talents to hundreds as a sideman.Robin was awarded Research Status from Oberlin for the 2013-2014 Academic Year
ROOTS & REVIVAL
Led by drummer Daniel Crosby, one of the finest exponents of Jamaican kit-drumming style outside of Jamaica and a leading UK jazz drummer, this groups performs a repertoire that extends from early Ska and Rocksteady, to Dub and Lovers Rock, this band features singers and musicians who have recorded and performed with some of the world’s greatest Reggae legends including Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, and Freddie McGregor. A journey through the musical history of Jamaica.
PENYA
is an untamed, genre-melting exploration of ancestral rhythms that reimagines the global music landscape.
The word “Penya” arrived as a nod to the Spanish word “Pena” which describes a meeting place of celebration for musicians and artists.
Afro-Peruvian, Spanish, Contemporary, and Indigenous influences,
GEORGE KING
is a virtuosic pianist, bandleader, and composer who has toured and recorded with Jah Wobble, the Halle Orchestra, and has written for T.V and Film.
His own music is deeply influenced by the breadth and eclecticism of his life and musical experiences: 19th Century Romantic music, epic contemporary piano and orchestral works, jazz, and the world-music mash-ups of Jah Wobble and Bill Laswell.
THE SOLOMON GUNDY BAND
co-led by Sean Corby and trombonist Jonny Enright, and featuring a line-up of electrifying UK based jazz, fusion, and afro-musicians, this band are due to release their debut album in Spring 2025.
trumpet and trombone with electronic effects, polyrhythmic jazz and fusion drums, afro-Cuban percussion, angular, Blues-drenched guitar, and hypnotic deeply-grooving basslines the band brings influences from electric era Miles Davis, Brazilian improv experimentalists Sao Paolo Underground, jazz composer and visual artist Wayne Shorter, and U.S underground vibes of Jeff Parker, Tortoise, and Isotope 217 to a 21st Century sonic Dutch-Pot.
GUILHERME GRANADO
the great São Paulo based keyboardist and electronic musician Guilherme Granado.
Highly prolific, with collaborations as diverse as Prefuse 73, Rob Mazurek, Naná Vasconcelos and Bill Dixon. Don’t miss your chance to hear one of the great electronic soundmakers currently active in Brazil’s experimental music scene and beyond.
AFROLIFE feat KING AYISOBA
Afro-Beat, High Life, Hip Life, and Zouk in the style of Fela Kuti, ET Mensah, Kassav, and other West African and Caribbean stars.
King Ayisoba, hailing from the Northeast of Ghana, has dropped his latest album “Work Hard” (available now via Glitterbeat), featuring a dynamic blend of frenzied kologo sounds and intricate musical explorations by a talented group of Ghanaian electronic producers. With this new release, King Ayisoba cements his status as both an otherworldly performer and a daring sonic adventurer.
Kologo music, which originates from the Frafra people in the Northeast of Ghana, centers around the kologo instrument. King Ayisoba is a master of this Northern Ghanaian lute, which boasts a simple design consisting of a calabash covered in goat skins and just two strings.
MARC BURONFOSSE
is a guitarist and bass player from Paris. Following studies in musicology, sound engineering, symphonic music, and jazz, Marc has gone on to play with many of the great U.S and European jazz musicians of this era.
His recordings demonstrate a profound creativity and ability to bring various musical traditions and idioms together.
He has most recently recorded an album with Syrian singer Lynne Adib- Qalb- which brings Arabic, Orthodox, Greek, Indian and contemporary European musicians together.
Creative, enchanting, and innovative.
JULIE DEXTER
Julie Dexter, a world renowned, award winning, British singer, songwriter and producer considered by many to be one of the most influential female vocalists of our generation.
Having shared the spotlight with a host of cutting-edge artists, including Mint Condition, Caron Wheeler, Jill Scott, Lalah Hathaway, Omar, Ledisi, Doug Carn, Third World and Maxi Priest to name a few, Julie not only holds up her own with them but has been praised and respected by them too.
Influenced by legends such as Nancy Wilson, Abbey Lincoln, and Bob Marley, as well as popular icons Omar and Sade, Julie takes classic soul to the heart of Artistry. Fans and critics across the globe have followed her journey through the circles of Jazz, Broken-Beat, Bossa-Nova, Reggae, Afro-Beat and Soul and she was recently honored at the Black Women in Jazz Awards with the Afro Caribbean Soul of Jazz Award.
It was in 1999 that Julie took a leap of faith and moved to Atlanta, Georgia where she now resides.
She launched her own label, Ketch A Vibe Records and in 2000 released the critically acclaimed EP Peace of Mind, followed by Dexterity (2002) ,Conscious (2005) and New Again (2011). Moon Bossa, a collaboration with Khari Simmons was released in 2007 and her single "Ketch A Vibe" was featured in national radio ads for Democratic Presidential Candidate Senator Barack Obama. Her latest release Deja Vu is an eclectic blend of Jazz, Soul and Reggae.
From Jazz to World Music, Soul and beyond, Julie Dexter is one of an elite few whose talent can transcend genres. She makes it all work on her own terms, as an audaciously independent artist with an undeniable connection to her audience
KOBO TOWN
.Named after the storied district in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, where calypso was born, Kobo Town has been described as “an intoxicating blend of lilting calypsonian wit, dancehall reggae and trombone-heavy brass” (Guardian) and a “unique, transnational composite of rhythm, poetry and activist journalism.” (Exclaim!)
Since their founding in 2005, the group has brought their distinct calypso and ska-inspired sound to audiences across the world.
Jean Paul GROUNDS Oak Hospitality
“QALB ensemble at GROUNDS was unforgettable.
Truly a night that brought vibrant colour to what had felt like a blank canvas”
Herbie Hancock
The Human Revolution Orchestra are making great strides in music towards bringing the peoples of the world together. Sean Corby and Robin Eubanks are of like-minded and compassionate spirit. I happily endorse their efforts and look forward to hearing about the fruits of their accomplishments.” HERBIE HANCOCK