Celebrating Alice Coltrane - Alina Bzhezhinska & HipHarp Collective featuring Brian Jackson: Guinness Cork Jazz Festival 2024

Year 2024 is announced as a special year of celebration dedicated to the enduring legacy of Alice Coltrane. The John & Alice Coltrane Home proudly presents the “Year of Alice” in 2024, in celebration of her profound work.

In conjunction with this esteemed undertaking, we are delighted to highlight a very special collaboration featuring internationally acclaimed harpist Alina Bzhezhinska, distinguished composer and musician Brian Jackson, and celebrated saxophonist Tony Kofi – all esteemed artists affiliated with BBE Music. Together, they will present a unique and captivating performance at this year’s Guinness Cork Jazz Festival.

Alina Bzhezhinska’s profound admiration for the artistic oeuvre of Alice Coltrane is eloquently expressed in her album Inspiration, a heartfelt tribute to the enduring influence of both Alice and John Coltrane, featuring the virtuosity of Tony Kofi on saxophone.

The next major event dedicated to Coltrane was in 2017 when Bzhezhinska and Kofi captivated audiences at the Barbican during the EFG London Jazz Festival, sharing the stage with the legendary Pharoah Sanders – an event subsequently honoured with a nomination for ‘Best Live Experience of the Year’ at the prestigious 2018 Jazz FM Awards.

Since then, Alina and Tony performed Coltrane’s on numerous global stages including Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, Paris Jazz Festival, Tampere Jazz Festival in Finland and WOMADelaide Festival in Australia.

For Brian Jackson, the music of the Coltranes has served as a beacon of inspiration throughout his illustrious career. Half of the power duo Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson, Brian looks to both the present and the past for inspiration in order to honour the ancient tradition of the griot – the African troubadour of truth.

“I learned it from those who came before me. It’s my job to pass on what I’ve learned. That’s the Tradition,” Brian Jackson.

Alina, Brian, and Tony are diligently curating a program that will showcase Alice’s most revered compositions, such as “Journey in Satchidananda”, “Shiva Loka” and “Ptah The El Daoud”, alongside their own original compositions, which bear the imprint of Coltrane’s universal vision.

For this momentous occasion, they will be joined by a stellar ensemble, featuring Alina on harp and electronics, Brian on keyboard and flute, Tony on saxophone, supported by the rhythmic mastery of Mikele Montolli on bass and Joel Prime on drums/percussion.

Alina Bzhezhinska – Harp
Brian Jackson – Flute, Keys
Tony Kofi – Saxophone
Menelik Claffey – Bass
Matt Holmes – Drums