Zoe Rahman (born 20 January 1971) is an English

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

composer and pianist.

Early life

Rahman was born and brought up in

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

, England by a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

father, Mizan Rahman, and an English-Irish mother. Her mother was a doctor who grew up in New Zealand. Rahman describes her childhood as being "completely English" and has described herself as culturally "very English". Her father's family is from

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

. Her maternal grandmother is from Ireland. Rahman started off playing classical piano when she was about four years old. Her family had a piano that her parents had bought for £10 and Rahman's older sister started to play; her other two siblings and Rahman followed her footsteps. Rahman and her younger brother, Idris, got into listening to jazz when they were teenagers and tried to work out how to play. Rahman had jazz piano lessons with various teachers and found opportunities to gig with other musicians. She studied classical piano at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

, received a music degree at St Hugh's College,

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, and won a scholarship to study jazz performance at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, where she had lessons with pianist

Joanne Brackeen Joanne Brackeen (born Joanne Grogan; July 26, 1938) is an American jazz pianist and music educator. Music career Brackeen was born in Ventura, California, United States, and attended the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music. She was a fan of pop pi ...

. While in America she formed her own trio, which featured bassist Joshua Davis and drummer

Bob Moses Robert Moses (1888–1981) was an American city planner. Robert Moses may also refer to: * Bob Moses (activist) (1935–2021), American educator and civil rights activist * Bob Moses, American football player in the 1962 Cotton Bowl Classic * Bob M ...

. In 2002, Rahman discovered Bengali music, when her father was hospitalised and she had transferred some of his cassette tapes of 1950s Bengali music to CDs for him to listen to while he recuperated. Rahman became intrigued by the sounds and subsequent trips to Bangladesh allowed Rahman to learn about her background through music.

Later life and career

Radio and television appearances

Rahman has been the featured artist on radio and television programmes such as

Courtney Pine Courtney Pine, (born 18 March 1964), is a British jazz musician, who was the principal founder in the 1980s of the black British band the Jazz Warriors. Although known primarily for his saxophone playing, Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also ...

's ''Jazz Crusade'' on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...

'',

BBC London BBC London is the BBC English Region producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London and parts of the surrounding area. Its output includes the daily ''BBC London News'' and weekly '' Sunday Politics'' on television, ...

's ''Now's the Time'', Andrea Oliver's ''The Selector'', Northern Broadcasting Internet Radio,

Resonance FM Resonance 104.4 FM is a London based non-profit community radio station specialising in the arts run by the London Musicians' Collective (LMC). The station is staffed by four permanent staff members, including programme controller Ed Baxter and ...

and

Julian Joseph Julian Raphael Nathaniel Joseph (born 11 May 1966) is a British jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and broadcaster. Biography Joseph was born in London and attended Allfarthing Primary School and Spencer Park Secondary School in Wan ...

's Jazz series for

Meridian Television ITV Meridian (previously Meridian Broadcasting) is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station was launched at 12:00 am on 1 January 1993, replacing previous broadcaster Television South, and is owned ...

. She has performed live on the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

and on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

's ''In Tune''.

Recording and performances

In 2001, her debut album '' The Cynic'' was released. In July 2006, her second album ''

Melting Pot The melting pot is a monocultural metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative being a homogeneous society becoming more heterogeneous throug ...

'' was released. ''Melting Pot'' was nominated for the

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

Album of the Year and won Jazz Album of the Year at the

Parliamentary Jazz Awards The Parliamentary Jazz Awards in the United Kingdom are organised by the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group (APPJAG) at the Houses of Parliament in London. The group consists of over a hundred members drawn from across the UK politica ...

in 2006. In September 2008, her third album '' Where Rivers Meet'' was released. In May 2009, her fourth album '' Zoe Rahman Trio: Live'' was released. In January 2012, her fifth album '' Kindred Spirits'' was released. ''Kindred Spirits'' won the Best Jazz Act award at the 2012

MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Af ...

. Rahman was sought out by music producer Paul Vlcek to play with

George Mraz George Mraz (born Jiří Mráz; 9 September 1944 – 16 September 2021) was a Czech-born American jazz bassist and alto saxophonist. He was a member of Oscar Peterson's group, and worked with Pepper Adams, Stan Getz, Michel Petrucciani, Stephan ...

. In July 2013, their album ''

Unison In music, unison is two or more musical parts that sound either the same pitch or pitches separated by intervals of one or more octaves, usually at the same time. ''Rhythmic unison'' is another term for homorhythm. Definition Unison or per ...

'' was released. Rahman's first solo piano album, ''Dreamland'', was recorded in 2015 and released by Manushi. Aside from working with her own groups, Rahman continues to perform and record (both in the UK and internationally) with a diverse range of other artists. These have included:

;

Clark Tracey Clark Tracey (born 5 February 1961) is a British jazz drummer, band leader, and composer. Career Tracey was born in London, England. He first played piano and vibraphone before switching to drums at age 13, studying under Bryan Spring. Tracey ...

's New Quintet; Soothsayers; Jerry Dammers' Spatial AKA Orchestra;

Keziah Jones Keziah Jones (born Olufemi Sanyaolu on 10 January 1968) is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He describes his musical style as "Blufunk", which is a fusion between raw blues elements and hard, edgy funk rhythms. Also his Nigerian roo ...

(2003/2004 European tours); David Walcott (2003 Festival, Barbados); Mekaal Hasan (2001 tour, Pakistan). She co-wrote a jazz-based theatre show, ''I'm a Fool to Want You'', about the French writer/musician

Boris Vian Boris Vian (; 10 March 1920 – 23 June 1959) was a French polymath: writer, poet, musician, singer, translator, critic, actor, inventor and engineer who is primarily remembered for his novels. Those published under the pseudonym Vernon Sulliva ...

, with ''Told by an Idiot'' Theatre Company (UK / South American tours 2003–2005). Other albums or DVDs that she has appeared on include: Courtney Pine's ''Song (The Ballad Book)'' and ''Europa'';

Reem Kelani Reem Kelani (born 1963) is a British Palestinian musician, born in Manchester, England. Initially influenced by the jazz music her father played on his record player, her interest in Palestinian music was sparked by the music at a family wedd ...

's ''Sprinting Gazelle''; the

Quintet's ''The Calling'' and ''The Mighty Sa''; Tony Bianco's ''In a Western Sense''; Gary Boyle's ''Games''; Soothsayers' ''Tangled Roots''; Brigitte Escobar's ''Brigitte''; Terry Hall/

Mushtaq Mushthak () may refer to: Given name * Mushtaq Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer * Mushtaq Ali, Indian cricketer * Mushtaq Gazdar, Pakistani cinematographer * Mushtaq Kak, Indian actor * Mushtaq Leghari, Pakistani air marshal * Mushtaq Minhas, Pakistani ...

's ''

The Hour of Two Lights ''The Hour of Two Lights'' is a one-off collaborative album between British solo-artist Terry Hall, formerly of the 2 Tone and ska revival band the Specials, and Mushtaq, a member of British-based multi-ethnic hip-hop– ethno-techno– world f ...

''; Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian's ''Big Ears''; and Keziah Jones's ''Live at the Élysée Montmartre'' DVD.

Composer

Rahman composed the piano score for the 2020 touring production of ''The Strange Tale of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel''.

Tours

Rahman has toured extensively throughout the UK and internationally, including

North Sea Jazz Festival The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam. This is because the Statenhal where the festival w ...

, Molde Jazz Festival, Palermo Jazz Festival, Algeria's European Cultural Festival,

Cork Jazz Festival The Cork Jazz Festival is an annual music festival held in Cork City, Ireland in late October. The first festival began on Friday 27 October 1978, and has been held every year (except in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The festival is Irel ...

, Estonia's Nargen Festival,

Barbados Jazz Festival The Barbados Jazz Festival was an annual music festival on the Caribbean island of Barbados. It was a week-long celebration held annually in January in Bridgetown. The festival began in 1993. Acts who performed included James Blunt, Dwane Husbands ...

and

Rochester International Jazz Festival Established in 2002, the CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival Presented by M&T Bank takes place in June of each year, in Rochester, New York. It is owned and produced by RIJF, LLC, whose principals are John Nugent, Co-Producer and Artistic D ...

. From 2009 to 2012, Rahman toured with

Jerry Dammers Jeremy David Hounsell Dammers GCOT (born 22 May 1955) is a British musician who was a founder, keyboard player and primary songwriter of the Coventry-based ska band The Specials (also known as The Special A.K.A.) and later The Spatial AKA Orches ...

The Spatial AKA Orchestra The Spatial AKA Orchestra is a music ensemble led by Jerry Dammers of The Specials, an English 2 Tone ska band popular in the late 1970s (which also went by the name the Special AKA). Dammers formed the orchestra in 2006 as a tribute to American ...

, bringing

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...

to a new audience. She also worked with bands led by bassist

Danny Thompson Daniel Henry Edward Thompson (born 4 April 1939) is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist. He has had a long musical career playing with a large variety of other musicians, particularly Richard Thompson and John Mart ...

, exploring the legacy of songwriter

Nick Drake Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter known for his acoustic guitar-based songs. He did not find a wide audience during his lifetime, but his work gradually achieved wider notice and recognit ...

; singer

Martha Wainwright Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She has released seven critically-acclaimed studio albums. Wainwright is the daughter of musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III a ...

; and saxophonist

Personal life

Rahman has a son, who was born in 2014.

Reception

Rahman has been described in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' as "one of the finest young pianists in Europe" and "a remarkable pianist by any standard".

Awards and nominations

Discography

An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.

As leader/co-leader

References

External links

* * * *
Zoe Rahman
on BritBangla {{DEFAULTSORT:Rahman, Zoe 1971 births Living people English people of Bangladeshi descent English people of Irish descent English jazz pianists English women pianists Women jazz pianists People from Chichester Berklee College of Music alumni Alumni of St Hugh's College, Oxford 21st-century English women musicians 21st-century pianists 21st-century women pianists