London Jazz Calling

With her music, British-Bahraini trumpeter Yazz Ahmed seeks to blur the lines between jazz and electronic sound design, bringing together the sounds of her mixed heritage in what has been described as "psychedelic Arabic jazz, intoxicating and captivating."

Her fourth studio album, A Paradise in the Hold, delves even deeper into her dual heritage and has produced a treasure trove that draws on traditional music and stories from her childhood home. Ahmed writes for voice for the first time, with lyrics inspired by Bahraini wedding poems and the yearning songs of pearl divers. Deeply textural, expansive and full of potent performances, the album charts the heroic voyages of the jewel hunters of yore, who sailed home through rough seas with precious cargo, and Ahmed's own journey of self-discovery over the past decade.

Her compositions invite us to groove and dance whilst embracing an introspective melancholy as we embark on a journey from London through Zurich to Bahrain and back again. In her words: "I hope that through my music I can bring people together, build bridges between cultures and change the perception of women in jazz and people of Middle Eastern heritage."

The music-listening carpet likes fruit. Cucumbers & carrots too. In his day to day as jazz booker at Moods, he reads and writes countless artist bios, which is why he is committed to a world without curly parsley.

Yunus will prepare a tasting menu, consisting of seven kilos of near mint records, three varieties of bağlama, market jazz from Kerns with a jus de disco & soundtrack confit. For dessert: Doppio with Parsley, smooth, VSOP 1993.

Kisses from the kitchen.