“Colectiva fulfilled all our expectations – we were hoping for a group of young musicians playing joyous infectiously uplifting music that would engage across our entire audience, and that’s exactly what we got! Loads of great feedback from the audience.“
-Eddie Myer, New Jazz Generation
UK Latin-Jazz pioneers COLECTIVA have taken audiences in UK, US, and Europe by storm, with their leftfield and explosive arrangements, rooted in the sonorities of Africa, Latin America and the diaspora. Founded by trombonist Viva Msimang, the project started with one simple aim: to explore the spaces between Afro-Latin music and Jazz, while reflecting on themes of sisterhood and female empowerment.
Today, COLECTIVA perform in sextet or quintet format, while membership of the collective represents a broader group of the UK’s top female Latin and Jazz instrumentalists. Together, they have birthed a sound affectionately dubbed jazz tropicaliente (hot-tropical-jazz), rich in bold horn lines, jazz harmony and Afro-Latin groove.
COLECTIVA have performed at iconic venues nationally and internationally, including sold out shows at Jazz Cafe, Barbican Centre, and Royal Albert Hall. They have performed at Glastonbury Festival, SXSW (Texas, USA), Music Meeting (Netherlands), Le Petit Halle (Paris, France), and at Kings Place and Southbank Centre.
Released in September 2022 with UK Jazz mainstays Jazz Re:Freshed, COLECTIVA’s most recent single How Do You Like Your Ladies? channels the group’s collective frustration at patriarchy and its discontents in the form of a 3-minute instrumental and accompanying music video, rich in Afro-Latin rhythm, Salsa influences and rebel energy.
Their debut single, ‘Under The’, released in 2021 on Movimientos, was written in collaboration with jazz pianist Maria Grapsa. ‘Under The’ received huge global radio plays and DJ support from Cerys Matthews, Huey Morgan and Jamz Supernova on 6 Music, Jazz FM’s Chris Philips and Tim Garcia, and Toshiro Matsuura and Papaoul on Worldwide FM, amongst many others. Premiering on Sounds and Colours magazine, the track was supported by Women in Jazz, and was playlisted on Spotify playlists including Music is My Sanctuary’s Jazz – Future Classics, and Colectivo Futuro’s Music Worth Sharing.