Sunday 27 April 2025 at the Brick Lane Jazz Festival
“The iconic bassist premiered his new project as part of the 2025 Brick Lane Jazz Festival” (Jazzwise, 25 April 2025)
In the spirit of jazz, Annette Walker was invited to make a last minute, impromptu tap dance appearance in the finale of Gary Crosby’s African Space Programme and made a great impression on the jazz-loving audience. Sadly there’s no footage but the moment was reviewed by Kevin Le Gendre for Jazzwise and Ian Mann for The Jazz Mann.
Jazzwise
Gary Crosby brings Africa Space Programme to Village Underground
Yet the showstopper moment comes when Clifford claps out a clavé beat and bids the audience to follow suit before tap dancer Annette Walker arrives to spin her way into the charming Latin rumble ‘Y Todavia La Quiero’, which has a hint of ‘The Creator Has A Masterplan’ in its chords. It’s a fitting climax to the maiden voyage of what is a real British jazz super group, which has, hopefully, more cosmic journeys to come.
Kevin Le Gendre, Jazzwise, 25 April 2025
Gary Crosby’s African Space Programme at the Brick Lane Jazz Festival 2025 was a 45 minute set of three songs performed by:
Denys Baptiste – saxophone
Steve Williamson – saxophone
Gary Crosby – double bass
Winston Clifford – drums
The Jazz Mann
Gary Crosby’s Africa Space Programme @ Village Underground
(4 stars)
Again unannounced, a woman in a striking red hat (later identified as Annette Walker) enigmatically joined the stage, before launching into a tap-dance routine – an extra dimension that I’ve seen added to several performances only in the last year or two, neatly bringing the cultural history of the jazz art-form into the space age of the 21st century.
Ian Mann, ‘Sunday at Brick Lane Jazz Festival, London, 27/04/2025, The Jazz Mann
Read the full The Jazz Mann review
