» Music: Ayanna Witter-Johnson
With a First Class music degree and a ‘Roxanne’ cover impressing YouTube, Ayanna Witter-Johnson is an artist of note writes Jeff Hemmings
You probably haven’t heard of Ayanna Witter-Johnson, but this unique, captivating and talented young composer, song-writer, vocalist, cellist and pianist has been making fast inroads. Despite being only 25, she has already worked with many leading musicians and producers including Courtney Pine, 4Hero, Dan Zanes, Robert Mitchell, Soul II Soul’s Riz MC, the Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra, Gwyneth Herbert and beat poet Michael Horovitz.
She began playing the piano at an early age, later taking up the cello during her teenage years, and graduated with First Class Honours from Trinity College of Music. “There was a point when I was about nine or 10 when I wanted to let it go,” she says. “My Mum said, ‘I don’t think so’, and that was that! Of course, I’m very grateful for that now.”
Ayanna has recently worked with acclaimed composer and saxophonist Jason Yarde as a vocalist, cellist and pianist in his B-Trade ensemble alongside Julian Siegel, Seb Rochford and Neil Charles. She was assistant orchestrator on the landmark Urban Classic project, which brought together leading UK Grime artists and the BBC Concert Orchestra. And more recently she worked with Jason on Belief! – a project featuring legendary South African trumpeter and vocalist Hugh Masekela with the London Symphony Orchestra.
“I’m a classically trained pianist, and the jazz came about when I went to Trinity, but after I graduated I wasn’t really sure what to do,” she says. “I had a regular gig in a restaurant, and I had to take my big keyboard there all the time. It was beginning to be too much to do so one night I took my cello instead and started improvising, just my voice and the cello, just jamming in the background!”
Ayanna describes her music as “jazz influenced, groove based soul with blues and classical sensibilities.” It is however her version of The Police’s ‘Roxanne’ that has helped her reach the mainstream. “That has opened up a lot of opportunities, especially the YouTube version.
I saw Sting play in New York and met him the next day. I gave him my version but I haven’t heard back from him… I Listen to less contemporary music than I used to, I’m more into people like Charles Mingus, Stevie Wonder and Nina Simone, and classical composers like Bach and [20th century composer] Berio.”
Ayanna is in the middle of a Masters in Classical Composition at the Manhattan School of Music, for which she received a scholarship, and after this tour she will be writing her orchestral degree piece. “I really enjoy studying, but after this I think I might have a break from it!”
Ayanna (with Robert Mitchell and Fraser Fifield), Latest Music Bar, 4 August
