Ms Maurice also known as Sheila Maurice-Grey is a London based Trumpeter, Vocalist and Visual Artist
Ms Maurice combines a melange of influences in her music, from organic grooves to 70s jazz infusions with a touch of West African sonic seasoning. These sounds are heavily influenced by her London upbringing.
Central to Ms Maurice’s music is her visual art practice, with which she aims to question her identity, as well as what it means ‘to misrepresent vs to be misrepresented.’ Her art provocatively explores the notion of ‘blackness’ and the hyper sexualisation of the black female body throughout history since the early 1800’s. In particular, she is interested in the visual history and facts known about ‘Blackface Minstrelsy’ and ‘The Hottentot Venus – Sarah Bartmann.’
Ms Maurice is bandleader of Afrobeat 7-Piece, KOKOROKO. She also plays with Jazz septet Nérija, who were nominated for Jazz Fm Breakthrough Act 2016 and were the ‘Parliamentary Jazz Newcomer of Year 2017’ winners. She has also performed with the likes of SOLANGE, KANO on the Jool’s Holland Show and The Mercury Prize 2016, and she features on Little SIMZ’s album, Stillness in Wonderland.
