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  • About
    • Najma & Ghazal & Sufi
    • Discography
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      • Performance
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Luton Culture: Najma Akhtar presents Five Rivers - 21 April

19/3/2017

 
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Friday 21st April, 2017
Luton Library Theatre
Time:19:30 - 21:30
Cost:£12.50
Group discount: Buy 10+ and save 10%
Booking information:Box Office: 01582 878100 / online
This Performance highlights and previews songs from Najma Akhtar's album Five Rivers and presents artistic musical and cultural diversity at its best.

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Shout Collective present Najma Akhtar Trio - 11 June

11/6/2016

 
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​Saturday 11th June 2016 

THE SHOUT COLLECTIVE PRESENT
LIVE ON STAGE 
NAJMA AKHTAR TRIO
The Queen of Anglo-Asian music
giving blues and folk a
​distinctive Indian twist  

 

 On the Decks:
THE SHOUT COLLECTIVE
Spinning the best selection of blues, soul, funk & global sounds
​
£5 (+£0.50 bkg fee) in advance:
£7 on the door

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Women in Music Festival - 8 April 2016

8/4/2016

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Friday 8 April 2016
6.30pm
Nehru Centre, London
​Admission: FREE (Please register as limited tickets)
​I am honoured to be performing my Five Rivers project with my full band on 8 April 2016 as part of the Women in Music Festival presented by Sama Arts Network at the Nehru Centre, London. The festival curated by Jay Visvadeva is a fantastic festival with an incredible line up of women of South Asian origin

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Summer / Autumn Gigs 2015

6/7/2015

 
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​
​October 2015
Tour Newsletter 
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Autumn has begun with Najma giving performances around England.
We hope that you are able to make one of them.
Presenting songs & poetry, expressed through the music of Indian Ghazal & Western Folk. Connecting vocal expressions through the rich musical landscape of the cultures that surround them.  Najma Akhtar is a British Asian singer songwriter. Her voice has been described as “a heaven-sent gift” (Songlines), “immaculate” (The Guardian) and “enchanting and splendid” (All Music Guide). She has collaborated with many world-class artists, including Jimmy Page & Robert Plant, Andy Summers, Basement Jaxx, Jethro Tull and Philip Glass.

​Saturday 18th July : Night of Festivals - Barking, London, England
Abbey Green UK  (30 min. Free performance)
Performance – Performance Dome 3.30pm (Semi- acoustic trio set)

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 Sunday 19th July : 
RhythmTree Festival - Isle Of  Wight,       England
 Performance – Main Stage – 2.30pm  (Band set)

 
 Saturday 29th August 2015 : The Bank Eye:  Suffolk, England
 2 Castle Street, Eye, Suffolk. IP23 7AN. UK  - 01379 873495
 Performance – 7.15pm  ( Semi- acoustic trio set)


 
Saturday 5th Sept 2015 : One World Folk Festival' Tottenham.   London, England


Najma invited to accompany Irish folk-flautist & multi-instrumentalist Jacquelyn Hynes at the 'One World Folk Festival' as part of her 'Silver and Wood' tour. Venue/ Stage :  The Shell Stage
Performance time - 4.15pm  - 4.50pm
Lordship Recreation Ground, Lordship Lane, Tottenham, London N17 6NU, England
 
Saturday 26TH September 2015 – Eid Special Traditional music performance

Venue : Birmingham, England
Performance time – 9.00 pm  - 11.00pm
 
Friday 2nd Oct 2015  Night of Festivals  - Leicester, England
Performance – 9.00pm (Band set)  
Venue - Main Stage -  Humberstone Gate Leicester LE1 1WA UK               
 
Friday 9th  Oct 2015  - Brunel University Lunchtime Concert Series, England
Performance – 1.15pm  (Duo)
3rd in a series of lunchtime concerts - Brunel University Arts
 
Fri 9th October 2015  - Village Hall, West Buckland, Devon (not the Somerset West,  Buckland), England
 Performance – 8.00pm   ( Semi- acoustic trio set)

Saturday 10th Oct  -The Yoga Barn, Lee ( Semi- acoustic trio set)
Venue : Lincombe Lee,  Woolacombe, Devon EX34 8, England  Tel 01271 862906

 
Friday 16th   Oct 2015   The Railway Venue
- Bolton, England
Performance – 9.00pm  (Band set)
37 Chapeltown Road, Bolton BL7 9LY. UK  Tel: +44(0)1204 306450

Read a preview of the concert.
 
Saturday 17 October 2015  - Musicport – Whitby, England
Venue; Main stage, The Whitby Pavilion, West Cliff, Whitby, North Yorkshire YO21 3AJ UK (Band set) 
Performance – 2.00pm  (Band set)

Routes SouthWest Tour 2014

17/9/2014

 
Mysterious, sensual and bewitching, Najma divulges tales of the heart through song and poetry drawing on both Indian Ghazal and Western Folk traditions.
One of world music’s innovators, over two decades Najma has brought together western jazz and Indian classical to create her own distinct style.  For this Routes South West tour she presents the romantic Urdu poetry of the Ghazal in song, exploring lyrics written by traditional and contemporary Sufi writers. One of the earliest forms of romantic poetry, with roots back to the 6th century, a Ghazal is essentially a love poem, one that meditates on the pain of loss or separation as well as the beauty of love despite that pain. Woven amongst these are traditional English and Irish ballads, capturing the universal nature of the heart.
 
Using both the traditional and contemporary Indian singing styles, Najma performs with her five piece band on Indian harmonium, violin, bass, percussion and guitar. Together they create a rich, evocative sound world which underpins Najma’s soulful voice and transports the audience through the powerful emotions the songs convey.
 
Najma established herself as a pioneering vocalist during the late ‘eighties with her widely acclaimed first album ‘Qareeb’, introducing jazz to the traditional repertoire of Ghazal.  This album was hailed as a groundbreaking recording in the world music scene and has since paved the way for many artists of Indian descent and she has collaborated with Jimmy Page, Phillip Glass, Robert Plant and Basement Jaxx.
 
Now with seven solo albums to her name, Najma’s music encompasses world jazz, Asian Underground, blues and more. Utterly distinct, she has received huge critical acclaim from Rolling Stone magazine which praised her ‘effortless artistry and emotional daring‘ to The Observer which noted that ‘The pure soaring arc of Najma’s voice remains above emulation’.
 
This special programme promises a mesmerising and intimate musical evening exploring the heart’s sorrow and euphoria through the evocative sound of Najma’s British and Indian roots.
 
Line up:
Najma Akhtar - voice & harmonium
Chris Haigh - violin
John Deemer – bass guitar
Ramon Goose - guitars, harmonica and backing vocals
Either Eric Ford - Tabla and Percussion (September dates)
Or Matt Fisher - Tabla and Percussion (October dates)
 
TOUR SCHEDULE
Fri 26 Sept 7.30pm     TEWKESBURY Roses Theatre, GL20 5NX
Sat 27 Sept 8pm           DORCHESTER Arts Centre
Tues 28 Oct 8pm          BRISTOL The Lantern Colston Hall, BS1 5AR
Wed 29 Oct                    EXETER Phoenix
Thurs 30 Oct 7.45pm  BARNSTAPLE, Queen's Theatre, EX31 1SY
Fri 31 Oct 8pm              CALSTOCK Chapel Arts Centre 
Tues 4 Nov 7.45pm     LONDON, Rich Mix

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