Xhosa Cole & Nathan England Jones

‘Over the course of the week at Snape, Nathan England Jones and I strive to bring the full range of our musical experiences together in a collaborative exploration of what sonorities are possible with this duo.’

‘Having both worked in a range of fields with musicians from different backgrounds, experiences and outlooks, together we have a rich wealth of ideas and techniques to draw from. Nathan and I are both improvisers at heart and will begin the week creating music together without any preconceptions but with all our instruments (acoustic and electronic) having the capacity to move in any creative direction that feels right in the moment. From this generative source we will set some forms and structures that will form part of a live set that we will tour around music festivals and other arts events in 2023 and beyond. As passionate archivists, Nathan and I also have a panoply of African diasporic footage from a range of sources. During the week, we will share these materials and upload them digitally onto samplers in order to embed this rich source material into our live work and structure powerful and relevant and historic narratives into our creative output.’ - Xhosa Cole

Snape Residencies provide time and space for creators at all stages of their careers; a supportive environment to create, be curious, and try out new ideas. Open Sessions offer a unique chance to go behind-the-scenes and experience work-in-progress created during the Residency.

We are so grateful to our supporters, without whom none of our work would be possible. Visit Support Us to find out how you can help.

Supporters contributing towards Residencies include:
Genesis Kickstart Fund and PRS Foundation’s The Open Fund.

About Xhosa Cole

Winner of the 2018 BBC Young Jazz Musician of the year, Xhosa Cole is an embodiment of the success of numerous community arts programmes in Birmingham including the Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra, Jazzlines Ensemble and Birmingham Music Service. Having grown up in Handsworth and first played the Tenor at Andy Hamilton's Ladywood Community Music School, he's now among a long legacy of Birmingham Saxophonists including Soweto Kinch and Shabaka Hutchings. Xhosa has performed twice at the BBC Proms, Composed music for the Ripieno Players, a Birmingham Based String Orchestra, recorded saxophone for Mahalia’s debut album ‘Love and Compromise’, completed a 22 date UK tour, all along side his studies as a scholar at Trinity Laban Conservatoire. Xhosa Also received the Parliamentary Jazz Award for ‘Best Newcomer’ in 2019 and Jazz FM 'Breakthrough act of the year'.

Xhosa's earliest memories of the arts are with ACE Youth Dance group. However, since playing in Holyhead School's Jazz band with Ray Prince and Sid Peacock he decided to pursue music and joined the Jazzlines Ensemble, Birmingham Schools Symphony Orchestra, Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra among others. Xhosa attended courses with the National Youth Jazz Collective and National Youth Wind Orchestra. He is now finishing his degree in Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London alongside a wide spectrum of work writing and performing across the UK. in 2019 Xhosa received the Parliamentary Jazz award for 'Best Newcomer”.

Header photo credit: Ian Davies

About Nathan England Jones

Nathan England Jones is a musician based in Birmingham. He is a graduate from the Birmingham Conservatoire Jazz course, where he studied with Andrew Bain, Clark Tracey and Jeff Williams and was awarded the Tony Levin Drum Prize in 2015. He has performed a diverse range of music; from playing on Radio 3 late night proms, to touring with electronic producer Ghost Culture, to featuring as a soloist in Birtwhistle's 'Panic' performed by Thallein Orchestra. He has played at venues such as Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express Jazz Club and Corsica Studios, as well as Les Inrocks Festival and Cheltenham Jazz festival. He also performs regularly with bands Odmansbox and Zyggurat.