Saxophonist, composer and arranger Chelsea Carmichael is an understated innovator and educator, quietly adding her own contribution to the iteration of jazz that has evolved on these islands. She’s a warm and hypnotic player, who brings subtle and considered improvisation to everything she does.

She’s already been part of a Mercury-nominated band – she played on SEED Ensemble’s 2019 ‘Driftglass’ – and currently plays with Theon Cross and the hyper-popular Outlook Orchestra who play for huge audiences at major venues and festivals. She also writes and arranges for her own ensemble.

Primo cultural instigator Shabaka Hutchings noted her potential and invited her to record the first release on his new brand new lebel, Native Rebel Records. Together, they worked on a set of songs, which she recorded up at RAK studios with Eddie Hick (Sons of Kemet), Dave Okumu (The Invisible) and Tom Herbert (The Invisible; Polar Bear) and the resulting recordings comprise her 2021 debut album The River Doesn’t Like Strangers.