Cleveland Watkiss and Django Bates have travelled independent paths for the past forty years, each imparting purpose and direction to their craft, and in tonight’s concert they unite for the first time at the EFG London Jazz Festival where they will explore Afro-Caribbean, American and English folk culture through song, jazz and improvisation.

'The artist walks where the breath of the spirit blows them. The Artist cannot be told their direction when they do not know it themselves. But they lead the rest of us into fresh pastures and teach us to love and to enjoy what we often begin by rejecting, enlarging our sensibility and purifying our instincts.' The wisdom of John Maynard Keynes, founder of the Arts Council, still resonates in our time.

From Armstrong to Bowie - from Bates to Watkiss.
Songs of love and hope, songs of art and craft.

Cleveland Watkiss - Voice, Electronics
Django Bates - Piano, Voice, Keyboards