Get the latest gossip

‘I don’t want to be a legacy performer’: why Britain’s hottest jazz star is giving up his sax for the flute

He’s at the height of his powers as a saxophonist – but has given it up to play a Japanese flute that takes years to master. In London and Brazil, the multiple Mercury nominee explains why he has to resist the easy path, even if it puts his livelihood at risk

And then he goes into a lengthy but fascinating digression, which variously touches on non-western spiritual practices, the “orientation of energy”, how watching “trashy TV” can affect your vitality, and how making yourself uncomfortable on stage reflects the discomfort “we all have to navigate because of society”. It’s exceptionally beautiful, a little mysterious (its oblique track titles are supposed to be read as a poem) and boasts an impressively stellar lineup of guest artists, among them Floating Points, Lianne La Havas, ambient legend Laraaji and André 3000 – Hutchings cropped up, playing the shakuhachi, on the former Outkast star’s own recent album of flute instrumentals, New Blue Sun. He had more projects stacked up when lockdown hit, he says, including a request to play Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto with the Britten Sinfonia, an adventurous chamber orchestra that has previously worked with everyone from Brad Mehldau to These New Puritans.

Get the Android app