The African Jazz All-Stars, Support: The Ronnie Scotts All Stars Saturday 15th May

LUCKY RANKU - guitar/leader/South Africa
CLAUDE DEPPA - trumpet/South Africa
FAYYAZ VIRJI - trombone/Tanzania
BUKKY LEO - tenor saxophone/Nigeria
TONY KOFI - alto saxophone/Ghana
GREG BONNIE - baritone saxophone/Nigeria
ADAM GLASSER - piano/South Africa
KAZ KASOZI - bass/Kenya
BRICE WASSY - drums/Cameroon
LEKAN BABALOLA - percussion/Nigeria
PINISE SAUL - vocals/South Africa

“This is a great jazz ensemble. All soloists are first class”.
Jack Massarik, The Evening Standard.

“African rhythms are effortlessly fused with jazz solos in a remarkable way”
John Fordham, The Guardian

"Exuberant and energetic, sophisticated and stylish”
World Music Magazine

Africa’s finest jazz orchestra returns with their blistering big band funk, imaginative jazz solos and irresistible African rhythms. At the helm is Africa ’s finest jazz guitarist LUCKY RANKU, who leads the hard as nail rhythm section featuring inventive pianist PATRICK BEBEY, power house drummer BRICE WASSY, conga legend LEKAN BABALOLA, percussionist SIEMY DI and deep end bassist JOSEPH HLENGETWA. The stellar cast horn section features high note trumpeter CLAUDE DEPPA, bad bone trombonist FAYYAZ VIRJI, creative alto saxophonist TONY KOFI, soulful tenor saxophonist BUKKY LEO and deep end baritone saxophonist GREG BONNIE. The Queen of African jazz PINISE SAUL adds her class quality as she sings a new suite “Under The African Sun”. Expect an exhilarating and rousing show.

THE AFRICAN JAZZ ALLSTARS
LUCKY RANKU, band leader

Africa’s leading jazz orchestra The African Jazz Allstars explores the African roots of jazz. Under the leadership of South Africa and Africa's greatest jazz guitarist Lucky Ranku, the African Jazz Allstars explores diverse influences and styles while maintaining irresistible African grooves and exuberant jazz solos. The explosive African Jazz Allstars effortlessly integrate their African roots of many cultures with jazz vernacular to create a sound that sizzles like an African sun.

Associations with various African legends like Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Fela Kuti, Dudu Pukwana and Franco and tours of Africa over the years have changed Lucky Ranku's musical vision. At the summit of his career he began a new voyage of discovery, travelling in spirit through Africa without religious, ethnic, political and tribal divisions.

The African Jazz Allstars, featuring musicians from Tanzania, Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo, Ghana and South Africa, occupies an African musical world that is united by the infectious rhythms of mbaqanga, afrobeat, hi-life, mbalax and soukous. The music is full of rhythmic tension, interwoven guitar parts, jazzy brass section. The African Jazz Allstars represents the most ambitious project to date by Lucky Ranku; a man regarded as Africa’s greatest jazz guitarist.

Biography of Lucky Ranku, the leader of The African Jazz Allstars

"Lucky Ranku is arguably Africa's greatest guitarist" The South African Times

Legendary LUCKY RANKU has been at the heart of South African music and politics for over 40 years. He was part of a group of great artists alongside Miriam Makeba, Dudu Pukwana, Hugh Masekela, Johnny Dyani, Julian Bahula and who underpinned their music with a political stance.

Lucky Ranku's signature guitar sound changed African guitar forever. With The Malombo Jazz Group in the 60s and Julian Bahula’s Jabula in the 70s he laid the foundation for what became known as “the township beat”.

He was also a featured soloist with two African super groups, Julian Bahula’s Jazz Africa in the 70s that enjoyed massive successes all across the world. In the 80s he became a featured soloist with Dudu Pukwana's Zila and The Johnny Dyani Group.  

During the anti-apartheid movement Lucky Ranku was the musical director to The African National Congress Choir (The ANC) that toured the world on behalf of the ANC. Lucky Ranku also collaborated on the allstar South African Orchestra that appeared at the Wembley Celebration of the release of Nelson Mandela. He was a member of Julian Bahula’s group Jabula that became the first African group to tour Cuba in 1972. He was a member of Amandla, the allstar South African line up that was invited to FESTAC 1976 (Festival of African Culture).

He wrote the music to the award winning film "A Solitary Confinement"; he is the featured soloist in the sound track of the film "Cry Freedom". He collaborated, recorded and toured with the likes of Hugh Masekela, Chris McGregor, Johnny Dyani, Dudu Pukwana, Jonas Gwangwa, Julian Bahula, Louis Moholo, David Murray and Mike Oldfield.

Since 1990 Lucky Ranku has been the musical director of THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOSPEL SINGERS where he continues to achieve world-wide acclaim for his deft arrangements of Pinise Saul's compositions and for his brilliant guitar lines.  He co-leads the TOWNSHIP EXPRESS with PINISE SAUL and founded as well as leads THE AFRICAN GUITAR MASTERS with Ghanaian Kari Bannerman and Sierra Leonian Abdul Tee-Jay. Lucky Ranku is admired for his brilliant guitar style that is so uniquely his own and for his highly original compositions and arrangements.