Femi Temowo is a Jazz re:freshed veteran, blessing the stage and featuring on the first Jazz re:freshed release – Jazz re:freshed Volume one. Over the years, we have watched Femi’s talent and profile grow and grow, becoming one of the foremost Jazz guitarists of his generation. It is always a privilege to host him and his extraordinary band, this coming Thursday we will be repeating this pleasure.
For those of you that don’t know about the phenomenal artist that is Femi Temowo, here’s the lowdown…
Femi Temowo is a MOBO Award nominated musician who was raised listening to West African pioneers such as Fela Kuti, Sunny Ade and Ebenezer Obey. Later he discovered the legendary Charlie Parker and classic jazz albums such as Miles Davis’ ‘Kind Of Blue’. It was when he became inspired by the great jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, that he decided to pursue his passion for the guitar, based around a fusion of these musical influences.
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Early benchmarks in Femi’s career include being approached by critically acclaimed jazz saxophonist and UK Hip Hop artist Soweto Kinch, who asked him to become part of his newly formed quartet in 2002. His phenomenally successful collaborations with Soweto culminated in a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize, a BBC Jazz award for best new group and several MOBO awards.
As his talent and success gained momentum, so too did the demand for Femi as a versatile and stylish guitar player. Femi’s intricacy and skill on his instrument of choice led to a diverse range of high profile collaborations.
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Femi’s slick and melodic guitar sound has earned him a place beside many great musicians and artists from across many genres, having played with the likes of – George Benson, Courtney Pine, The Roots, Omar, Roachford, Amy Winehouse, Jason Rebello, Eska Mtungwazi, Soweto Kinch, Terri Walker, Jean Toussaint, Don Blackman, Michal Urbaniak and many more.
Femi’s latest project Orin Meta, sees him in a Quartet / Quintet setting where he is currently expanding on some of the ideas he started on his debut album but in a smaller group setting, experimenting with Nigerian folk sounds and jazz song form.
Check out Femi Temowo’s website here.
You can see Femi and his band this Thursday 9th May 2013 at Jazz re:freshed
