Sabina Desir (Freedom Road Re-Imagined)
This production brings together live music, photography and film to explore the cultural legacy, resilience and creativity of Black Britain.
Freedom Road Reimagined
Following their sold-out presentation of Afro Blue at the 2024 London Jazz Festival, Artistic Director, creative producer and jazz vocalist Sabina Désir and Musical Director and pianist Jessica Lauren return to mark ten years of creative collaboration with Freedom Road Reimagined.
Produced in partnership with Grammy-nominated theatrical production company Sisters Grimm, founded by Ella Spira MBE and Pietra Mello-Pittman MBE, the production brings together live music, photography and film to create a powerful multimedia experience exploring the cultural legacy, resilience and creativity of Black Britain.
Featuring the iconic photography of Charlie Phillips OBE and Vanley Burke—widely recognised as two of the most influential chroniclers of Black British life—the performance enters into a creative conversation with their work, bringing six decades of lived experience into dialogue with a powerful live score.
Not simply a story of protest, Freedom Road Reimagined is a celebration of presence: of communities, creativity, identity and belonging. The music reimagines and reinterprets works from the U.S. protest canon through a deep soul jazz lens, drawing on the emotional power of songs that speak to struggle, resilience, hope and transformation.
Rooted in the experiences of Black Britain while welcoming audiences of all backgrounds, Freedom Road Reimagined is a celebration of the enduring power of music, image and community to forge connection and inspire future generations.
Line Up
Sabina Desir - Vocalist/Artistic Director
Jessica Lauren - Keyboards/MD
woodwinds - TBC
Ivan Hussey - cello
Jason Simpson - Bass
Winston Clifford - Drums
Photography
Vanley Burke
Charlie Phillips OBE
Film
Nathan Jones
Actor/Writer
Taariq Forder
Freedom Road Reimagined
Following their sold-out presentation of Afro Blue at the 2024 London Jazz Festival, Artistic Director, creative producer and jazz vocalist Sabina Désir and Musical Director and pianist Jessica Lauren return to mark ten years of creative collaboration with Freedom Road Reimagined.
Produced in partnership with Grammy-nominated theatrical production company Sisters Grimm, founded by Ella Spira MBE and Pietra Mello-Pittman MBE, the production brings together live music, photography and film to create a powerful multimedia experience exploring the cultural legacy, resilience and creativity of Black Britain.
Featuring the iconic photography of Charlie Phillips OBE and Vanley Burke—widely recognised as two of the most influential chroniclers of Black British life—the performance enters into a creative conversation with their work, bringing six decades of lived experience into dialogue with a powerful live score.
Not simply a story of protest, Freedom Road Reimagined is a celebration of presence: of communities, creativity, identity and belonging. The music reimagines and reinterprets works from the U.S. protest canon through a deep soul jazz lens, drawing on the emotional power of songs that speak to struggle, resilience, hope and transformation.
Rooted in the experiences of Black Britain while welcoming audiences of all backgrounds, Freedom Road Reimagined is a celebration of the enduring power of music, image and community to forge connection and inspire future generations.
Line Up
Sabina Desir - Vocalist/Artistic Director
Jessica Lauren - Keyboards/MD
woodwinds - TBC
Ivan Hussey - cello
Jason Simpson - Bass
Winston Clifford - Drums
Photography
Vanley Burke
Charlie Phillips OBE
Film
Nathan Jones
Actor/Writer
Taariq Forder
