From solo to orchestra, from 20s jazz at Cadogan Hall to touring with Afro dub band Soothsayers, from performing with Zoe Rahman to Joe Armon-Jones,
from North Sea Jazz Festival to New York, Mellow is at home in the centre of live improvised musical storytelling through jazz and blues song.
Born in London to a Blues-singing hippie and Trinidadian Rastafarian activist, she was raised in the Midlands in a cult from age 5 to 20.
Mellow escaped to study art in Leicester and has been exploring creativity and recovery through music, art, writing and cultural exploration ever since.
Courtney Pine OBE played her first EP on Radio 2, calling it "superb voice, brilliant music, a must for all." Her rhythm section now features three of Pine's
finest: double bassist Vidal Montgomery, guitarist Chris 'Santos' Cobbson and drummer Robert Fordjour, composer performers in their own right who
between them have played with other jazz greats including Denys Baptiste, Jean Toussaint, Nathan Haines, Tony Kofi, Talvin Singh, Cymande, Benet McLean, Julian Joseph and Robert Mitchell.
Booksong weaves lyrical revisioning of standards with original songs, shaped by cultural heritage and the journey of a self-healing antidisciplinary artist.
Testimonials
‘That velvety, molten voice seemed to literally bring a surge of heat into the auditorium. Unforgettable.’ – Dr Nima Poovaya-Smith OBE
‘The quality of the performance was very high . . . Mellow's performance skills and style [created an] engaging and sensory experience.’ – Ruth Hardie, Senior Producer, Public programming Southbank Centre (2022)
‘Warm, honest, truthful, sensitive. Mellow Baku delivers accomplished spoken word and dynamic vocals . . . Perfectly pitched and delivered.’ – Mizhelle Hubbard AKA ‘Mother Hubbard – Blackdrop Curator, Nottingham
The cultural palette from which her work begins is a celebration of multi-culturalism and inclusive experiences.’ – Tom Newton Executive Producer, The Spark Arts for Children
‘A new voice in British music, with an original blend... Superb voice, brilliant music, a must for all.’ – Courtney Pine OBE
Leicester Jazz House supports and promotes the principles of ACE and others regarding the importance of equality, diversity and inclusivity. This includes the acknowledgement that there is much more work to be done to make our society and culture free of prejudice and discrimination in the arts.
Leicester Jazz House CIC is a volunteer-run not-for-profit organisation bringing contemporary jazz of the highest quality to Leicestershire audiences through the programme of events mainly at the Musician Venue, Attenborough Arts Centre and Y Theatre; and also promoting jazz in other ways, including through education.
