Charlotte Keeffe

Musician, trumpeter, and flugelhorn player Charlotte Keeffe wears her love for free improvisation, free jazz, and abstract music-making on her sleeve. So far, her music has been significantly featured on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 6, and Jazz FM, where she has been described as “prolific,” “dynamic,” and “a brilliant improviser!” by artists such as Corey Mwamba, Stuart Maconie, and Jez Nelson. She is a serious artist and part of the 2022 Take Five cohort. Keeffe performed a duet with the powerful City of London as part of the 2022 Festival of New Trumpet Music, led by world-renowned trumpeter Dave Douglas.

Using the power of art to effect social change is a key part of Keeffe’s musical identity: she served as Assistant Musical Director for the London Gay Big Band, is an advocate for gender equality and diversity, is part of the Parliament award-winning group Women in Jazz Media, and performed with Marin Alsop’s Taki Concordia Orchestra at the 2019 World Economic Forum, playing before global leaders and celebrities, including Sir David Attenborough. Whether performing regularly as a soloist (Sound Brush) or leading various ensembles, including her RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW Quartet—featuring Ashley John Long on double bass, Ben Handysides on drums, and Moss Freed on guitar—she meticulously creates spaces for the free flow of ideas and individual expression. Inspired by abstract painters, Keeffe refers to her instruments as “Sound Brushes.”

Her debut album Right Here, Right Now is where you’ll find her showcasing her passion for live soundscapes rendered in real-time spaces. Released in 2021 by Discus Music, Keeffe gained critical acclaim and carved a niche for herself within the label, composing, performing, and co-leading (with Discus Music head Martin Archer) for/on many of the label’s artists/projects, including the Anthropology Band (featuring Pat Thomas and Orphy Robinson MBE, among others), Hi Res Heart with Martin Pyne, Carla Diratz, Julie Tippetts, and many, many more.

From performing on the stages of Glastonbury and Wilderness alongside Charlotte Church, Laura Mvula, and Kate Nash, to broadcasting live for an international audience from her bathroom during the global pandemic, Keeffe understands that embracing individuality and letting go of inhibitions is the surest way to capture the transformative power of music. Keeffe’s second album, featuring her RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW Quartet, ALIVE! in the studio, was released in September 2023.

“…Keeffe demonstrates extraordinary strength of character, navigating through the full range of sounds and emotions…” - Kevin Le Gendre, JAZZWISE"

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