In my time as head of live programming for The Columbo Group and musical director for the Jazz Cafe (a venue that is open every day of the year apart from Christmas Day), I strived to provide the most diverse and exciting music programme imaginable.
The non-stop nature of the role required 24/7 dedication, by keeping an eye on current musical trends and thinking up new and creative ways to solve problems that we encountered on a daily basis, such as last-minute cancellations or poor selling shows.
It goes without saying that having been in the role for a few years, I built up a fine-tuned understanding of the London music market, as well as a large collection of professional relationships along the way with artists, agents, managers and fellow promoters.
As the face of the venue, I dealt with all client issues and feedback up front, managed the entire promotions team, and acted as the go-between for promotions and production. As such, I am very comfortable leading groups of people, setting tasks and micro managing, and my time management skills and ability to multi task are second to none. I also have a deep understanding of complex P&L budgets, having put on shows ranging from 200 to 1200 capacity in venues such as Camden Assembly, Union Chapel and Heaven.
In terms of the musical programme, I had full creative control and was able to express my personality fully through my bookings, whilst still being careful to uphold the values, prestige and history of the venue. Treading the line between commercial ticket sales and artistic license, we promoted music across the whole spectrum, from soul, funk, hip-hop and ‘world’ music to rock, ambient, electronica, jazz and experimental. I’m proud to say that we had the honour of hosting Roy Hargrove, Ginger Baker and (supposedly) ESG’s last ever London shows, and People Under The Stairs’ last ever show full stop.
I worked directly with a number of artists to commission bespoke shows that we developed together from the ground up, and further to this I proactively reached out to fellow brands to set up long standing and successful partnerships (NTS, Boiler Room, gal-dem, Jazz Re:freshed, Rhythm Section, Total Refreshment Centre, Classic Album Sundays, Skin Deep, The Wire, Mo’Wax and more).
As more of a venue booker than a promoter in the traditional sense, I worked directly with a number of artists to commission bespoke shows that we developed together from the ground up, including Byron Wallen’s 20th anniversary celebration of Boards Of Canada’s Music Has The Right To Children, which was promoted by the band themselves, and received a glowing review from Resident Advisor.
Whilst I held my post at the Jazz Cafe I was invited as a guest speaker on Hoxton Hotel’s ‘Hox How To: Make It In Music’ panel and Resident Advisor’s Take Note Academy. I also appeared as a guest on Yasser’s BBC Asian Network show for his 20 minute #InsideKnowledge segment.
I also led on a number of community-based initiatives, including a £3 guest list donation for Camden Music Trust, a £2 voluntary donation on all Tomorrow’s Warriors events, an annual Christmas event with Help Refugees and a one-off Christmas matinee show for the elderly in collaboration with North London Cares.
I signed off my five-year stint at the Columbo Group by booking the line-up for Jazz Cafe’s first ever day festival, Maiden Voyage, at Three Mills Island in August. With the likes of Roy Ayers, Steam Down, Louis Cole, Madlib and Gilles Peterson all performing, the event was a huge sell out success.
Projects
- SebzeWe are a London based catering duo presenting nourishing, vegetarian-friendly food inspired by the Middle East. As two lifelong foodies of Lebanese and Turkish heritage, our mission is to challenge the common stereotype of Middle Eastern cuisine being overly rich and meaty. Instead we aim to promote the humble vegetable in all its various guises (hence the name Sebze), whilst still respecting the authentic tastes we’ve both grown up with.
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Work history
Head Of Live ProgrammingThe Columbo Group
5 Parkway, Camden Town, London NW1 7PG, UKFull Time
As head of live programming for The Columbo Group and full-time curator for the Jazz Cafe, a venue that is open every day of the year (apart from Christmas Day), I strive to provide the most diverse and exciting music programme imaginable.
The non-stop nature of the role requires 24/7 dedication; keeping an eye on current trends and thinking up new and creative ways to solve problems that we encounter on a daily basis, such as last-minute cancellations or poor selling shows.
It goes without saying that having been in the role for over two years, I have a fine-tuned understanding of the London music market and have built up a large collection of professional relationships along the way with artists, agents, managers and fellow promoters.
I am the face of the venue and manage the entire promotions team, so am very comfortable leading groups of people, setting tasks and micro managing, and as such my time management skills and ability to multi task are second to none. I have a deep understanding of complex budgets, having put on shows ranging from 200 to 1000 capacity.
In terms of the musical programme, I have full creative control and am able to express myself fully through my bookings. We promote music across the whole spectrum, from soul, funk, hip-hop and ‘world’ music to rock, ambient, electronica, jazz and experimental.
I have also worked closely with a number of artists to commission bespoke shows that I myself have developed from the ground up, and have also been proactive in reaching out to fellow brands to set up long standing and successful partnerships (NTS, Boiler Room, gal-dem, Jazz Re:freshed, Rhythm Section, Classic Album Sundays and more).
Editorial FreelancerNoisey
- 2 New N Pl, London EC2A 4HU, UKFreelance
I would write regular content for both Noisey and Thump (features, interviews etc), sub all content before publishing and handle all general maintenance of both websites’ homepages.
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Skills
- Organised
- Passionate
- Disciplined
- Ambitious
- Music Curation
- Booking Musicians
- Music Marketing
- Music Programming
- Music Events
- Music Promotions