Rafiki Jazz

Rafiki Jazz is a musician from the UK.

The group comprises musicians and singers from Africa, India, the Middle East, South America and Europe, bound together on a mission to share their sweeping divine border less music.

Rafiki Jazz in 2020 celebrated the beginning of a new decade with the release of their fourth album 'Saraba Sufiyana (Mystic Utopia)'. The album blurs the lines of the sacred and secular to produce a magical and rich visionary songbook. The songs are described as a film panoramic beauty, featuring music of the spirit, full of life, dance, emotion and joy.

Onstage:
Sarah Yaseen: Urdu & Punjabi vocals, ektara, percussion
Mina Mikhail Salama: Coptic & Arabic vocals, oud, ney, saz
Kadialy Kouyate: Mandinka & Wolof vocals, kora, sabar
Cath Carr: guitar, steelpans
Tony Koni: bass guitar, sabar
Johnny Ball: tabla, derbuka
Guery Tibirica: berimbau, pandeiro, gumbe
Vijay Venkat: Carnatic violin, bansuri

Albums:
2019 ‘Saraba Sufiyana’ (KoniCD011) is their fourth live-recorded studio album which has a big & emotional vocal presence in its utopian vision of a musical 4th World, and features guest singers including Nancy Kerr & Kaitlin Ross from the new English & Gaelic folk scene.

2017 ‘Har Dam Sahara’ (Riverboat TUGCD1106) is a compelling third live-recorded studio album of rich grooves reworking devotional music & texts from South Asian & West African Sufi traditions and Coptic & Hebrew liturgy

2014 ‘At Kriol Junction’ (KoniCDE010) is a second live-recorded studio album of driving cross-continental soundtracks powered by multi-language texts from the International Declaration of Human Rights & features guest singers & rappers from Iran, Kurdistan, Bangladesh & Zimbabwe.

2009 ‘More Big Muzik from Over There (KoniCD009) their powerful live-recorded debut studio album mixes up global roots music & features original #Rafikians Mim Suleiman, Juldeh Camara, Kadialy Kouyate & Kuda Matimba