Sara Stojev //

On August 16th, the 30th Nišville Jazz Festival was graced by a magnificent performance from Camilla George. A rising star in the contemporary jazz scene, Camilla’s music blends traditional jazz elements with Afrobeat rhythms, paying homage to her Nigerian heritage while pushing the boundaries of the genre.

Camilla George, a London-based saxophonist and composer, is celebrated for her unique sound that fuses jazz with Afrobeat and highlife influences. She was born in Nigeria and moved to the UK at a young age, where she quickly immersed herself in the world of jazz. A graduate of the prestigious Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Camilla has worked with some of the most respected names in the industry, including Jazz Jamaica and Tomorrow’s Warriors. Her debut album, Isang, released in 2017, and its follow-up, The People Could Fly (2018), both received critical acclaim, establishing her as one of the leading voices in the contemporary jazz scene.

In her interview with the Art Box portal, Camilla shared the beginnings of her career, the process of composing her music, her collaborations, and her upcoming performance at the Nišville Jazz Festival.

Can you share with us your journey of becoming a musician? What kind of music and musicians influenced your decision to become a jazz musician?

Well, my dad was a very big jazz fan. And so from a very young age, he had an amazing vinyl collection. On Sundays, we used to sit together and listen to all the jazz greats that he had. Some of them he’d been to see, like Sonny Stitt and Sidney Bechet. That was my gateway into jazz. My parents always had loads of music on. I was very lucky. I was born in Nigeria, my dad was from Grenada. We also had a Caribbean aspect as well, with some reggae playing in the house. But when I was 8, a friend of my mom’s had a saxophone. Her boyfriend had left it in her flat, and she wasn’t able to get a sound out of it. But I, as a tiny little girl, was able to get sound out of this tenor sax. I was hooked. I wanted to play sax, but I was too young, and it was expensive. My parents weren’t sure that I was serious, so I had to wait till I was 11. When I went to secondary school, they had a music competition. If you won, you could choose an instrument that you wanted to learn and get a few free lessons. I won it, and I chose the saxophone. That was when I was 11. At that time, I was getting into jazz. My mom took me to a concert near my school, and it was a band called Jazz Jamaica. Jazz Jamaica came out of Tomorrow’s Warriors, an important educational organization in the UK, particularly in London, aimed at getting kids from ethnic minorities into jazz. When I met them, I was just like, „Oh, I want to do what you’re doing.“ They said, „Okay, come to the sessions.“ They do sessions that are free every weekend. So I joined Tomorrow’s Warriors. Many years later, I joined that band, Jazz Jamaica, and I still play in that band now. Yeah, and then, of course, I went to music college, etcetera, etcetera.

Through music, you emphasize your Nigerian roots. How has your heritage influenced your music and artistic expression?

I think my heritage has influenced my music. I’ve put out 3 albums so far, and they’ve all had this link to where I was born and our culture is woven into jazz. It’s been important to me to make that a focus of my writing. I’m someone who has come up with a jazz tradition. But when we talk about becoming a jazz musician, we talk about finding our voice. For me, finding my voice has been about how to incorporate my African heritage as well.

Has your style evolved over the years?

Definitely, my style has evolved over the years. My band has been going for 10 years now. We started in 2014 with an EP, which I didn’t know how to distribute, so I just gave it away at gigs. My writing has improved since then. When you first start writing, especially as a jazz musician, you do a lot of pastiche based on jazz standards. But then you move on to finding your style. As a saxophone fan and composer, Kenny Garrett is very important to me. I find his music and his composition to be really inspiring, and it’s probably been a direct influence on me. His music sounds so successful and powerful, like a lullaby, even though it’s not easy to write. That’s what I’ve been going for – that kind of lullaby, something that people can sing.

You’ve worked with many talented musicians, such as Courtney Pine, Zara McFarlane, and Moses Boyd. Could you highlight a collaboration that significantly impacted your musical approach?

Tom Harrison, who was my producer on the last album, has been a very special collaborator. We both went to music college at the same time. They usually only take one tenor sax and one alto, but they took us both. We’ve been firm friends since then. Our collaboration in terms of writing together and producing together has really helped develop my music and compositional approach.

What does your process for composing new music look like? Are there specific themes or messages you aim to convey?

I often like writing about stories. I’ll research a story, think about it, and then write something about that. That’s how I like to think about music – as a selection of stories that take you to new places. Sometimes I try to write every day, even if a lot of it’s nonsense. But I don’t throw it away because there will be a time when I’m reading something about a particular folk story in my village, and I’ll realize that a bit I thought was rubbish can work in this way.

Your latest album, Ibio-Ibio, was released last year. How did you approach blending African rhythms with jazz in this album? Were there any particular challenges or surprises in this process?

My latest album is very personal. It was released last year. The big challenge was COVID, but in a way, it was positive because I couldn’t go anywhere, so I simply had to write. That process helped me advance, and I wrote the bulk of the album. The negative was that when I was ready to rehearse and record it, I could only afford two days of recording. We needed people to turn up, and there was the worry of COVID-19, but luckily, we didn’t have anyone drop out because of it. 

This album seems very personal to you. How has creating Ibio-Ibio influenced your understanding of your cultural identity, and how do you hope it resonates with listeners?

This album is personal because I was looking at my tribe, the Ibibio people, and researching their history, creation myths, and what makes them special. It was a special journey, and I feel blessed to have had the time to do it.

How do you view the role of jazz in today’s society? Do you believe it still has the power to drive social change?

I think jazz still has the power to drive social change, but I believe more in the power of joy. We have a lot of strife and suffering, which is awful, but if we focus on negativity, we go nowhere as a human race. Where we excel is in leading to the joy and magic of being alive. With music and jazz, there’s that uplifting thing – people going to a gig, feeling great about themselves for that hour and a half, and that’s what it’s about.

You are performing at the Nišville Jazz Festival this week. What were your initial thoughts when you were invited to perform at the Nišville Jazz Festival? How does it feel to be part of such a diverse lineup?

I’m performing on Friday at the Nišville Jazz Festival. For me, after never being in Serbia, I’ll have three Serbian gigs this year in total, which is great. I’m excited to see it.

Where do you see your music heading in the next few years? Are there any new genres or collaborations you’re excited to explore?

Right now, I’m keeping my collaborations under wraps because I’m in the process of writing this album, and I have some ideas brewing. I’m hopeful that there will be some exciting collaborations down the line. As for my music, I’m focusing on making it stronger and more authentic, especially as I continue to develop my voice as a leader and composer.