Jazz, poetry, and Caribbean rhythms merge when musician and poet Anthony Joseph visits ALICE. With his spoken-word recitation and groovy sound, he creates a space for reflection — and for revolution.

Jazz, surrealism, and Caribbean rhythms. Welcome to Anthony Joseph’s world. The musician, poet, and educator, born in Trinidad and based in London since 1989, protests and dreams through his words and his music. With his distinctive spoken-word delivery, he makes you listen intently and then clench your fists as he sings about the oppression of the African diaspora and expresses his hopes for a better future. When Anthony Joseph takes the stage at ALICE with his phenomenal band and their infectious grooves, it’s a time for both dancing and contemplation, movement and revolution.

Anthony Joseph is not only an acclaimed musician but also a celebrated novelist and poet. His 2022 poetry collection, ‘Sonnets for Albert’, won the T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry and the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Poetry. His compositional talents have also earned him the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Composers Award. He just released his eighth album, ‘Rowing up River to Get Our Names Back’ — an artistic stratigraphy that delves into the many layers of the African diaspora’s long and turbulent musical history. On the album, he explores and reinvents his musical heritage, blending funk, soul, free jazz, jazz, afrobeat, and blues into a powerful sonic tapestry. We can’t wait to experience it live!

Said about Anthony Joseph

“Anthony Joseph can halt your breath with intonation alone” – Pitchfork

“The Trinidad born Londoner who has an outstanding stellar poetry reputation we come to for his message music first and foremost and language you won’t hear from anyone else because he has his own lexicon and is the guardian of his own dictionaries.” – marlbank