Chelsea Carmichael

Chelsea Carmichael is a London-based tenor saxophonist who has been playing with some of the major artists who have emerged in that vibrant scene in the past few years, and has finally started releasing her work as a solo artist. Stylistically she combines post-bop with strong Caribbean influences as she straddles the line between calypso and dub quite a bit. Her playing style is reminiscent of John Coltrane's at times, especially his more spiritually oriented body of work. Other times, she plays with a kind of attack that would fit right in on any Sons of Kemet album. She has that choppy phrasing and Afrobeat motifs that Shabaka Hutchings has been building his career around, but she does that with softer contours and a smoother flow.