London Jazz Festival presents…. AfuriKo + Mañana Collective
AfuriKo is a Paris-born, New York-based African infused jazz duo, and the musical child of percussionist Akiko Horii and pianist/keyboardist Jim Funnell. Together, they have released two albums and toured extensively in Japan, Nepal, Europe and the US. Their music manifests within the boundaries of an imaginary triangle, with vertices representing (1) the joy and freedom of jazz improvisation, (2) spellbinding down-to-earth grooves drawn from ancestral West African traditions, and (3) the ethereal harmonies that have emerged from centuries of Western classical music. Led by Cuban flautist Jose Zalba-Smith, The Mañana Collective is a powerhouse of latin rhythm, playing Cuban and Brazilian music together explosively. A volatile, love loaded party bag around every corner, full of beans. An unstoppable expression of joy! The band came about when Jose met some really talented musicians at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. They bonded over their shared love of latin rhythm and the rest, as they say, is history! The members: Pianist James Clark, Bassist Pete Komor, Drummer Rod Oughton and hand percussionist Zands Duggan, will always bring a concert of moving multi-continental musical mayhem.
