Alina Bzhezhinska's HipHarpCollective at 606 Club

A versatile instrument the harp's place in jazz was for many years somewhat unfairly overlooked, associated most notably with Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby from the 1950’s and 60’s. It has, however, recently been discovered anew by contemporary jazz musicians, of whom Alina Bzhezhinska is one of the most exciting and dynamic. Earning her degree at the F. Chopin Academy in Warsaw followed by a Masters from the University of Arizona USA, Alina is now based in the UK where she has performed at the likes of the Royal Albert Hall, Ronnie Scott's and the Queen’s 80th Birthday celebrations at Balmoral...

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A versatile instrument the harp's place in jazz was for many years somewhat unfairly overlooked, associated most notably with Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby from the 1950’s and 60’s. It has, however, recently been discovered anew by contemporary jazz musicians, of whom Alina Bzhezhinska is one of the most exciting and dynamic. Earning her degree at the F. Chopin Academy in Warsaw followed by a Masters from the University of Arizona USA, Alina is now based in the UK where she has performed at the likes of the Royal Albert Hall, Ronnie Scott's and the Queen’s 80th Birthday celebrations at Balmoral. Festival dates include Edinburgh International Harp Festival and the North Sea Jazz Festival while her 2017 London Jazz Festival performance in a triple bill with Pharoah Sanders and Denys Baptiste was nominated for Jazz FM’s ‘Live Experience of the Year’ award. Alina’s debut album ‘Inspiration’, released in 2018 by Ubuntu, captivated critics and audiences alike and heralded Alina’s arrival on the international jazz scene in no uncertain terms. Tonight Alina is bringing to the Club her terrific “HipHarp Collective” which is dedicated to the music of one of the pioneers of modern jazz harp playing, the aforementioned Dorothy Ashby. Over to Alina: “I set myself on a mission to bring to life the music of legendary harpist Dorothy Ashby. This remarkable artist worked in many genres of jazz, composing and arranging music for harp, making a valuable contribution to the development of contemporary music”. Featuring a superb line up including the Award winning Tony Kofi-saxes, Christian Vaughan-piano, Julie Walkington-bass and Joel Prime-drums the music is sophisticated, swinging and fun and all infused with the unmistakable sound of Alina’s remarkable jazz harp playing. A unique gig from a unique musician.

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