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Josephine Davies

Winner of the 2019 Parliamentary Award ‘Jazz Instrumentalist of the year’, Josephine Davies is a musical artist at the forefront of the UK contemporary music scene, pushing the boundaries of jazz with her current main artistic project Satori – a sax/bass/drums trio with an emphasis on extended and collaborative improvisation. It is a project that combines her seeking of freedom of expression with her interest in Japanese philosophy and lifestyle.

Now becoming equally known as a composer, her unique voice is a blend of classical, jazz and folk music, creating an intensely dynamic sound infused with the Nordic quality of her Shetland roots. Deeply influenced by the American composer Maria Schneider, Josephine was resident composer and tenor player for the London Jazz Orchestra from 2011-2016, and now has her own big band ‘The Enso Ensemble’.

As a saxophonist she is known for her melodic focus, versatility and unique style which has been described as “consistently inventive” (Jazzwise Magazine), “strong and authoritative” (The JazzMann) and “with winning immediacy” (MOJO Magazine).

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4
Album Review

Harper Trio: Passing By

Read "Passing By" reviewed by Nenad Georgievski


In the ever-evolving realm of jazz, where experimentation and innovation are the driving forces, “Passing By" by The Harper Trio stands as a testament to the genre's unceasing evolution. This debut album introduces us to the groundbreaking artistry of Greek-born, Egyptian-rooted electric jazz harpist and composer Maria-Christina Harper. With an audacious spirit and a penchant for pushing the boundaries of her instrument, Harper presents the harp in a fresh manner, defying traditional expectations and carving a new path in jazz ...

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Album Review

Josephine Davies: How Can We Wake?

Read "How Can We Wake?" reviewed by Friedrich Kunzmann


Straight out of Europe's hippest jazz-scene, London-based saxophonist Josephine Davie's third effort with her trio, Satori, offers a collage of melodic meditations that simultaneously defy and conform to their rhythmic and harmonic frames. As All About Jazz's Chris May very fittingly puts it in an extensive conversation with the saxophonist, unlike many of her UK-based contemporaries, Davies' brand of jazz isn't made up of dancefloor grooves or Afro-infused beats, but instead searches for innovation in the Far East, ...

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Interview

Josephine Davies: Way Out East: New Directions In Jazz

Read "Josephine Davies: Way Out East:  New Directions In Jazz" reviewed by Chris May


Compared to many other bands which have emerged on jny: London's paradigm-shifting jazz scene since the mid 2010s, saxophonist and composer Josephine Davies' trio Satori has attracted relatively little noise. There has been high praise from specialist critics but little mainstream media coverage and even less social media chatter. This may be because, unlike many of its contemporaries, Satori, though rhythmically rich, is not infused with dancefloor-friendly grooves. Davies instead looks to Eastern culture, particularly to Buddhist texts and meditation ...

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Album Review

Josephine Davies: How Can We Wake?

Read "How Can We Wake?" reviewed by Chris May


Compared to many of the other premier-league bands on the new London jazz scene, tenor saxophonist and composer Josephine Davies' Satori has attracted relatively little noise. There has been high praise from specialist critics, but little of the social media ballyhoo that has surrounded, for instance, bands led by fellow tenors Nubya Garcia and Binker Golding (who deserve all the praise they get). This may be because, unlike many of its contemporaries, Satori's style, though rhythmically rich, is not infused ...

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Radio & Podcasts

¡Golpe!, Josephine Davies & Ken Field

Read "¡Golpe!, Josephine Davies & Ken Field" reviewed by Maurice Hogue


Threesomes! If that's your thing, go for it, but in jazz there's no doubt of the dominance of trios as a common format. Four outstanding trios highlight this edition of OMJ: Portugal's explorative duo ¡Golpe! adds the outstanding bassist Masa Kamaguchi for its excellent new release, Totem, while two others maintain what's working: Bill Frisell with Thomas Morgan and Rudy Royston and England's Josephine Davies using saxophone and her Satori trio to take us through a Buddhism-related progam of fine ...

1
Album Review

Collocutor: Continuation

Read "Continuation" reviewed by Gareth Thompson


Viewing the CV of musician-composer Tamar Osborn is like watching a tapestry unfurl in bewildering detail. Having started out on clarinet and saxophone, performing mostly classical works, she later studied rhythms and ragas in India, then collaborated with a vast array of talents, often fusing Afrobeat and Ethio-funk into jazzy paradigms. She was part of the onstage band for Fela! The Musical during its 2010 / 2011 runs in London, and formed her own Afrobeat-informed band, The Fontanelles, in 2011. ...

2
Album Review

Josephine Davies' Satori: In The Corners Of Clouds

Read "In The Corners Of Clouds" reviewed by Roger Farbey


It's interesting to compare In The Corners Of Clouds with Josephine Davies' previous album simply entitled Satori (Whirlwind, 2017). That live album was recorded at a gig in London in 2016, whereas In The Corners Of Clouds was recorded at Buffalo Studios, London in February 2018. The line-up has changed slightly too with Paul Clarvis replaced by James Maddren on drums, but essentially both share the attributes of consistent inventiveness. The serpentine, Eastern-inflected “Wabi Sabi" catches and holds ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Passing By

Little Yellow Man Records
2023

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Continuation

On The Corner
2020

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How Can We Wake?

Whirlwind Recordings
2020

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In The Corners Of...

Whirlwind Recordings
2018

buy

Satori

Whirlwind Recordings
2017

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Videos

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