THE UK’S FINEST MUSICIANS ACROSS JAZZ, CLASSICAL AND CONTEMPORARY MUSIC ASSEMBLE FOR A LANDMARK CONCERT OF CONNECTION, REFLECTION AND CELEBRATION, HONOURING THE WINDRUSH GENERATION
KINGS PLACE, JUNE 25, 7.30PM
- Live premiere of The Windrush Suite & Echo in the Bones. A multi-sensory performance of music, storytelling, visuals and recordings of the pioneering voices of the Windrush Generation.
- Inspired by Ivor Novello recipient, Platinum-selling composer and songwriter Renell Shaw’s Caribbean roots.
- Featuring a roll-call of 12 of the finest musicians in the UK, blending Jazz, Classical and Contemporary music, led by Shaw. The ensemble includes Orphy Robinson MBE, Cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson and legendary saxophonist Jean Toussaint.
- The third and final chapter of this musical trilogy, Remember Us Tomorrow, a new Kings Place commission, premieres October 9 2026. Full line-up to be announced.
Kings Place announces a roll call of some of the UK’s finest musicians, spanning jazz, classical, and contemporary music who will perform in Ivor Novello recipient, Platinum-selling songwriter and producer Renell Shaw’s award-winning composition The Windrush Suite and its electrifying sequel, Echo in the Bones.
The extraordinary concert on June 25 marks the first ever performance with a full live ensemble of this award-winning masterpiece. Distinguished musicians directed by Shaw include multi-instrumentalist Orphy Robinson MBE; renowned classical crossover cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson; Rudimental trumpeter Mark Crown, Trombonist Nathaniel Cross; Charlie Laffer who plays for Maverick Sabre, on guitar; Jorga Smith bassist Mutale Chashi; Olivier-award winning composer Romarna Campbell (Sleepova) on drums, award-winning Jazz ensemble Tomorrow’s Warriors alumni Kezia Abouma on piano and not least, Grammy-award-winning and legendary tenor saxophonist Jean Toussaint.
Vocalists include the powerhouse voice of Afronaut Zu (lead singer of Afro-punk band Steam Down), OFFIE Award-winner Rochelle Rose (Best Performance in musical Black Power Desk) and the modern soulfulness of artist Nandi (on ITV’s The Voice 2018).
Shaw’s work bridges theatre, contemporary composition and artist led music. Known for combining emotional depth with a strong connection to audiences, he has collaborated with artists including Rudimental, Anne-Marie, Nile Rodgers, Emeli Sandé and Nitin Sawhney, while building a distinct compositional practice with credits including The Crucible and Othello for Shakespeare’s Globe, Is God Is for the Royal Court Theatre, and Yasuke, an original opera developed with Music Theatre Wales.
This, his year-long Artist Residency at Kings Place forms a central part of the venue’s Memory Unwrapped season, which invites artists to explore the extraordinary power of music to stir innermost recollections, to preserve history and to honour the unforgettable.
The Windrush Suite pays homage not only to Shaw’s grandparents’ journey from the Caribbean to Britain, telling their stories of love, pain, struggle, and triumph through a fusion of jazz, spoken word and Caribbean traditions, but it is also a heartfelt tribute to all of the trailblazers who arrived in Britain in 1948, building lives, community and culture against the odds. Echo in the Bones explores what it means to be Black British through the eyes of the Windrush generation’s children – weaving music, history, and storytelling into a moving portrait of resistance, legacy, and belonging. Listen to the albums HERE and HERE.
A brand-new commission titled Remember Us Tomorrow will be the closing statement to this three-part concert series. This powerful new work will premiere during Black History Month, on October 9 and importantly asks what it means to be of Afro-Caribbean heritage after three generations in Britain, raising a fourth generation in a world that is both hyper-connected and deeply divided. What stories must we protect? And how do we ensure we are remembered as tomorrow takes shape. Shaw’s most personal work to date, is both a love letter to community and a bold act of cultural preservation.
Shaw, who is of Jamaican and Dominican heritage, says: “Staging The Windrush Suite and Echo in the Bones at Kings Place right now feels deeply significant to me because these works are about memory, inheritance and the stories that continue to shape who we are. They honour lives, histories and emotional truths that deserve to be heard in full. I hope audiences leave feeling moved, expanded and more connected to the human depth within these works. Through this journey I have learnt that my role is not just to compose, but to hold space for memory, truth and transformation through music.”
Sam McShane, Artistic Director of Kings Place adds: “The Windrush Suite & Echo in the Bones brings together everything that makes Renell Shaw such an important artistic voice. These works honour the Windrush generation while giving powerful expression to the experiences of those who followed, weaving music, memory and storytelling into something deeply moving and contemporary. This performance sits at the heart of Renell’s residency at Kings Place, an ambitious statement of heritage, identity and creative evolution.”
Full Line-Up
Renell Shaw
Composer, musical director, conductor and vocalist
Orphy Robinson
Marimba
Ayanna Witter Johnson
Cello
Romarna Campbell
Drums
Charlie Laffer
Guitar
Mutale Chashi
Bass
Kezia Abouma
Piano
Mark Crown
Trumpet
Nathaniel Cross
Trombone
Jean Toussaint
Sax tenor
Nandi
Vocalist
Afronaut Zu
Vocalist
Rochelle Rose
Vocalis
