Yazz Ahmed: An introduction to the trumpet player and composer

Yazz Ahmed is a British-Bahraini trumpet player and composer who won twice at the Jazz FM Awards 2020 with OANDA, taking home The PRS For Music UK Jazz Act of the Year and Album of the Year awards.

Through her music, she seeks to blur the lines between jazz and electronic sound design, bringing together the sounds of her mixed heritage in what has been described as ‘psychedelic Arabic jazz, intoxicating and compelling’.

Her career is studded with high profile collaborations, which have seen her record and perform with the likes of Radiohead, Lee Scratch Perry, Transglobal Underground, Susheela Raman, Tarek Yamani, Amel Zen, including a world tour with These New Puritans.

As a guest soloist and composer, Yazz has performed with Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra, Cambridge University Jazz Orchestra, NYJO, NYOS, and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama Jazz Orchestra.

Yazz Ahmed's third album: 'Polyhymnia'

Yazz Ahmed’s long-anticipated third album, 'Polyhymnia', is a grand work conceived as a message to the world about the history and growing empowerment of women.

The album is a series of powerful tributes to noted women in history, whose stories resonated and inspired Yazz: Rosa Parks; Malala Yousafzai; Ruby Bridges; Haaifa Al-Mansour; Barbara Thompson; and The Suffragettes.

Rich in musical imagery, 'Polyhymnia' explores the history of these women and their struggles and triumphs, evoking the universal human concepts of forgiveness, oppression, hopefulness, and power to overcome.

Scroll through for highlights of the Jazz FM Awards 2020 with OANDA:

You can hear Yazz Ahmed on the Jazz FM playlist.

Listen to Jazz FM across the UK on your digital radio, the free Rayo app, via the play button below and by asking your smart speaker to "play Jazz FM".

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