Jazzed Out, London

For this episode of the Jazzed Out series, where improvised music is taken from its natural habitat of clubs and bars and thrust into living, breathing spaces, London is in the spotlight. At the time of filming, and arguably still now, London was surely the most exciting jazz city in Europe, perhaps the world. The series of young talents that make up this film are testament to a multicultural scene that is finding its voice, expressing a very modern message.

Shabaka Hutchings is a figurehead of this scene, and thus a flagbearer for a London sound that blends jazz with Caribbean and African rhythms. The first performance, which takes place in a car repair garage, sees him team up with the supreme Richard Spaven on drums and Oren Marshall, a tuba player and electronic tuba pioneer who plays a large and alien instrument dubbed the Orenophone. What follows is a series of performances in unlikely locations, ones that are always intriguing and representative of the city from a new angle.