As challenging as these times are on planet earth, it is with great wonder and comfort that we are witnessing the emergence of great leaders with vision; individuals who are reinventing Jazz while also becoming role models for others as they express their worldview through their art. Composer, trumpeter, and flugelhorn player Yazz Ahmed has performed with Radiohead and The New Puritans. Her second album, La Saboteuse, featured Shabaka Hutchings and Naadia Sheriff and was hailed by critics and fans alike. Yazz was born in London to a British ballerina mother and Bahraini engineer father, with the family moving to Bahrain soon afterwards. When she was nine, Ahmed and her sisters returned to London with their mother. Her maternal grandfather, Terry Brown, was a jazz trumpeter and record producer in the 50s, and when Ahmed was given the choice of taking up an instrument at her new school, she chose the trumpet. Her third album, Polyhymnia, will be released in October 2019, and while Yazz continues to blend Jazz with traditional Arabic rhythms and melodies, she brings her message with the music. Polyhymnia is a celebration of female courage and determination. It is a suite of six compositions, each dedicated to women of outstanding qualities, whom Yazz finds to be inspirational role models. We welcome this powerful and important statement as we work towards a world of equality.
