YolanDa Brown

Cabot Place, Canary Wharf
London, E14 4QT
Friday, June 01, 2012 9.30PM

How to modestly undersell a new artist when everything about them warrants a shout across the rooftops?

Frankly, it isn't easy, because by simply stating all that YolanDa Brown has achieved over these past few years in music - and she has done so entirely under her own steam - it really is difficult not to wander into the path of hyperbole.

So let us start by asserting that YolanDa Brown is a one-off, very much a woman of her time, and one of the precious few truly independent artists whose DIY ethic hasn't hindered the progress of her career but instead has laid the kind of foundations that could endure for decades.

As much entrepreneur as she is musician, as much gifted singer-songwriter as she is the UK's premier saxophonist, this is a young lady with an entrepreneurial bent who, in 2012, is going to make a considerable mainstream splash, her name in lights at last.

After several years on the jazz circuit, not just London's jazz circuit but, as we shall see, the world's, she has now released her debut album, April Showers, May Flowers,and that will surely see her cult reputation brought to the fore. This is an album of effortless unfurling grace and impeccable soulful poise. It is the product of a two-time MOBO Award winner who knows exactly what she is doing, and precisely how to do it.

"People often ask me what my target audience is," she says. "Thing is, when I look out into the audience at my shows, I can't really tell. I see all sorts: all ethnicities, all ages, either sex. So really, I guess, I'm making music for everyone." She smiles broadly. "I mean, why limit yourself?"