Biography
Shabaka (full name Shabaka Hutchings) is a London-born, Barbados-raised multi-instrumentalist best known as a leading figure in contemporary British jazz and improvised music.[1][3][5] Born in 1984 to Barbadian parents, he spent much of his childhood in Barbados after early years in London and Birmingham, beginning clarinet studies around age nine while playing in school and calypso bands, and practicing classical repertoire alongside hip-hop by artists like Nas and local Barbadian music.[1][3][4][7] He took up saxophone in his early teens and, after returning to Birmingham at 16, discovered jazz in earnest through big band music and public library recordings before earning a place at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he formally studied clarinet from 2004–2008.[1][3][4]
Following conservatory training, Shabaka immersed himself in London’s improvising community and a wide range of professional work, performing everything from Bollywood festivals and film scores to traditional jazz and wedding bands.[1][4] He recorded and/or toured with artists such as Mulatu Astatke and the Heliocentrics, Soweto Kinch, Floating Points, and Courtney Pine, while also playing with the London Improvisers Orchestra, before focusing his energy on three primary ensembles: Sons of Kemet (fusing Afro-Caribbean rhythms, marching-band energy, and UK club culture), The Comet Is Coming (cosmic, electronic-infused jazz), and Shabaka and the Ancestors (drawing deeply from South Africa’s jazz lineage).[1][3][5] Across these projects and his own releases, including the 2022 EP Afrikan Culture, he has developed a style rooted in the legacies of American jazz yet strongly informed by Afro-Caribbean traditions, London dance music, spiritual jazz, and an increasingly prominent exploration of flutes and other aerophones.[1][2][5]
In the early 2020s Shabaka undertook a significant artistic shift, beginning intensive study of the Japanese shakuhachi and other flutes during the COVID-19 pandemic and finding that these instruments “slowly changed the scope of [his] musical inner landscape.”[1][2] On New Year’s Day 2023 he publicly announced that from 2024 he would take a hiatus from playing saxophone in public, stepping away from ensembles where saxophone was his primary instrument, including Sons of Kemet, The Comet Is Coming, and Shabaka and the Ancestors, to focus on a more meditative, flute-centered practice.[1] At the same time he convened a wide circle of admired peers at Rudy Van Gelder’s historic studio in New Jersey—collaborating with artists such as André 3000, Esperanza Spalding, Lianne La Havas, Laraaji, Moses Sumney, Floating Points, and Saul Williams—to document a new phase of his music that emphasizes atmosphere, collective interaction, and ritual, further cementing his status as a central architect of 21st‑century spiritual and experimental jazz.[1][2]
Fun Facts
- Shabaka was named after the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Neferkare Shabaka, reflecting an early connection to African history and symbolism that later resonated with the Afrofuturist themes in his music.[4]
- As a teenager in Barbados, he once entered a school pageant by performing Brian McKnight’s R&B ballad “Back at One” on saxophone, an early example of his comfort moving between pop and jazz contexts.[4]
- Before his rise as a bandleader, Shabaka took on a wide variety of gigs in London—from Bollywood festivals and film-score work to a Benny Goodman–style clarinet part for a New York City health-care advertisement—building the versatility that underpins his later projects.[4]
- During the COVID‑19 pandemic he began studying the Japanese shakuhachi and other flutes, a practice that transformed his musical direction so deeply that he eventually announced a hiatus from performing on saxophone in public starting in 2024.[1]
Musical Connections
Mentors/Influences
- Soweto Kinch - Birmingham-based alto saxophonist who took Shabaka under his wing as a teenager, introducing him to jazz recordings, weekly jam sessions, and a model of mixing jazz with hip‑hop while reclaiming the music’s relevance for young audiences.[3][4] (Live jam sessions and mentorship rather than specific recorded projects; early 2000s Birmingham scene.[3][4]) [c. 2000–mid-2000s]
- Marshall Allen - Leader of the Sun Ra Arkestra who performed with Shabaka on multiple occasions and offered performance guidance such as the admonition “Don’t think, play!”, emphasizing instinct and freedom in improvisation.[4] (Live appearances with the Sun Ra Arkestra; no specific commercial releases cited.[4]) [2010s–2020s (approximate based on touring accounts)]
- Sun Ra (influence via recordings and Arkestra legacy) - Pioneer of Afrofuturist big‑band jazz whose integration of myth, poetry, and cosmology into music provided a conceptual and aesthetic model for Shabaka’s own work with groups like The Comet Is Coming and Shabaka and the Ancestors.[4] (Influence is conceptual rather than on specific collaborations; Sun Ra recordings and the continuing Arkestra practice.[4]) [Influence spanning Shabaka’s mature career (2000s–2020s)]
Key Collaborators
- Sons of Kemet (Theon Cross, tuba; dual drummers including Tom Skinner and Eddie Hick, among others) - Shabaka’s flagship quartet formed around 2011, combining tuba-driven bass lines, two drummers, and saxophone/clarinet to create a highly rhythmic, Afro‑Caribbean and UK club‑influenced sound.[1][3][5] (Albums such as Burn, Lest We Forget What We Came Here To Do, and Your Queen Is a Reptile (noted across discographies, though not all detailed in search excerpts); extensive international touring.[1][3][5]) [c. 2011–2023 (active period before saxophone hiatus announcement)]
- The Comet Is Coming (with Danalogue and Betamax) - A trio blending jazz, electronica, and psychedelic rock, with Shabaka on saxophone alongside keyboards and drums, often framed as cosmic or Afrofuturist jazz.[1][5] (Multiple albums and EPs on labels such as Impulse! (exact titles not all listed in excerpts); extensive touring in late 2010s–early 2020s.[1][5]) [mid‑2010s–2023]
- Shabaka and the Ancestors - An ensemble rooted in the South African jazz scene that Shabaka leads in collaboration with South African musicians, drawing from the country’s rich jazz tradition and spiritual, political themes.[1][5] (Albums including Wisdom of Elders and later releases (titles known from wider discography though not all named in excerpts); recorded for labels such as Brownswood and Impulse! (inferred from broader discography).) [mid‑2010s–2023]
- Mulatu Astatke and The Heliocentrics - Ethiopian jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke and UK ensemble The Heliocentrics, with whom Shabaka recorded and/or toured early in his professional career, reinforcing his connection to global jazz traditions.[1] (Live touring projects and recording collaborations; specific albums not detailed in the provided excerpts.[1]) [late 2000s–2010s]
- Floating Points - UK electronic producer and bandleader with whom Shabaka has recorded and/or toured, reflecting his engagement with electronic and dance‑music cultures.[1][2] (Collaborative performances and recording projects; specific titles not named in the excerpts.[1][2]) [2010s–2020s]
- Courtney Pine - Prominent British saxophonist and bandleader with whom Shabaka has recorded and/or toured, linking him to an earlier generation of UK jazz innovators.[1] (Recording and touring work with Pine’s ensembles; specific albums are not listed in the excerpts.[1]) [late 2000s–2010s]
- André 3000 - Rapper and multi-instrumentalist (OutKast) who participated in Shabaka’s flute‑centered recording sessions at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, contributing to a cross‑genre, ambient/spiritual project.[2] (Collaborative tracks from Shabaka’s Van Gelder Studio project (associated with the Afrikan Culture era and subsequent recordings).[1][2]) [early 2020s]
- Esperanza Spalding - Bassist, vocalist, and composer who joined Shabaka’s Van Gelder Studio sessions, adding voice and bass/double bass to his flute‑based pieces.[2] (Tracks recorded during the Van Gelder Studio sessions linked to Shabaka’s post‑Afrikan Culture work.[1][2]) [early 2020s]
- Lianne La Havas - Singer-songwriter who contributed vocals during Shabaka’s Van Gelder Studio project, highlighting his connections beyond the jazz world.[2] (Vocals on tracks from the Van Gelder Studio sessions.[2]) [early 2020s]
- Laraaji - Ambient music pioneer who collaborated with Shabaka on the Van Gelder recordings, emphasizing the ambient and spiritual direction of Shabaka’s flute music.[2] (Collaborative pieces from the Van Gelder Studio sessions.[2]) [early 2020s]
- Moses Sumney - Singer and multi-disciplinary artist who took part in Shabaka’s Van Gelder Studio project, contributing vocals and experimental textures.[2] (Collaborative tracks from the Van Gelder Studio sessions.[2]) [early 2020s]
- Saul Williams - Poet, actor, and musician whose voice and texts appear in Shabaka’s Van Gelder Studio collaborations, connecting Shabaka’s music to spoken-word and literary traditions.[2] (Collaborative tracks from the Van Gelder Studio sessions.[2]) [early 2020s]
Artists Influenced
- London ‘neo‑jazz’ and youth jazz scenes (collective influence) - Shabaka is widely cited as a central figure in the rise of the London ‘neo‑jazz’ movement, with Sons of Kemet and related projects helping redefine UK jazz’s sound and audience; many younger London musicians draw on his fusion of Afro‑Caribbean rhythms, dance‑music energy, and spiritual jazz, though specific protégés are not named in the provided excerpts.[2][5] (Influence evident through albums and live performances by Sons of Kemet, The Comet Is Coming, and Shabaka and the Ancestors, which have become reference points for emerging UK jazz artists.[1][2][5]) [2010s–2020s]
Connection Network
External Links
References
Heard on WWOZ
Shabaka has been played 1 time on WWOZ 90.7 FM, New Orleans' jazz and heritage station.
| Date | Time | Title | Show | Spotify |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 8, 2026 | 22:09 | Breathing | Kitchen Sinkw/ Jennifer Brady |