Alumni nominated for Mercury Prize 2019
Fri 26 July 2019The Mercury Prize is an annual music award for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It celebrates artistic achievement across an eclectic range of contemporary music genres.
Following her graduation from the BMus Composition programme at Trinity Laban in 2015, composer, arranger and saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi formed London-based SEED Ensemble.
The 10-piece collective features rising stars of the Capital’s jazz scene, including several fellow Trinity Laban alumni: Sheila Maurice-Grey, Chelsea Carmichael, Cherise Adams-Burnett and Joe Armon-Jones.
In an interview earlier this year with TL-Life Crosscurrent, Ivors Academy Award winner Cassie said –
“I am working with some amazingly talented alumni from Trinity Laban who either graduated from the BA Jazz or MA in Jazz.”
Released in February 2019, the collective’s debut album Driftglass mixes old and new beats with spiritual, Afro-centric jazz.
The album impressed the Mercury Prize judging panel to make it onto the 2019 shortlist. The panel, which includes broadcaster Annie Mac, jazz legend Jamie Cullum and Glastonbury 2019 headliner Stormzy, praised the “rousing and inspiring” album –
“Cassie Kinoshi and her exuberant ten-piece band effortlessly combine homage to jazz history and celebration of today’s London’s jazz scene.”
The 2019 winner will be announced at an awards ceremony on Thursday 19 September at the iconic Hammersmith Apollo in London.
As London’s Creative Conservatoire, we embrace and celebrate jazz tradition whilst being contemporary in outlook, enabling students to become the artists they want to be.
To find out more about studying at Trinity Laban, visit our composition and jazz pages.