The British-Bahraini trumpeter and composer Yazz Ahmed has in recent years left an indelible mark on the global jazz scene. With her distinctive fusion of electronic sound design, Arabic microtones, and jazzy grooves, she creates a sonic landscape that is poetic, pulsating, and deeply rooted in her dual cultural heritage. She has collaborated with artists such as Radiohead and Lee Scratch Perry, and her debut was hailed as Jazz Album of the Year by The Wire. This March she hits ALICE with her quartet and a new record, and we can hardly contain our excitement.

“…magnetic, boundary-transcending jazz” – Uncut

In her characteristic blend of jazz and electronic sound design, Yazz Ahmed weaves threads between her British and Middle Eastern roots. Her music is often described as enchanting, dreamlike, and deeply ritualistic, with pulsating grooves, hovering brass timbres, and psychedelic textures unfolding into a musical language entirely her own. Central to Ahmed’s sound is her unique quarter-tone flugelhorn, which brings her closer to the “blue notes” found in Arabic music. The flugelhorn is both an instrument and an approach that gives her compositions a special spiritual depth.

Yazz Ahmed has toured extensively—from Bahrain to the United States—and has captivated audiences at festivals such as WOMAD, Love Supreme, and NYC Winter Jazz Fest. She has also established herself as one of her generation’s most visionary collaborators, working with artists like Radiohead, Lee Scratch Perry, Arturo O’Farrill, and Natacha Atlas. Her breakthrough came with the critically acclaimed album La Saboteuse (2017), which received global praise and was named Jazz Album of the Year by The Wire. With its follow-up Polyhymnia, she cemented her status as one of jazz’s most innovative voices, and has since received both a Jazz FM Award and the prestigious Ivor Novello Award for Innovation. She now returns with her fourth studio album A Paradise in the Hold (Night Time Stories, 2025). Look forward to a concert that both moves and hypnotizes when Yazz Ahmed visits ALICE in March with her quartet.