It’s no surprise Theo Croker was a jazz purist as a child: his grandfather is Grammy-winning trumpet player Doc Cheatam, and legend Donald Byrd was one of his teachers. He learned there’s more than just the jazz tradition he grew up with only after he spent seven years in Shanghai after graduating. As a trumpet player, he played wherever possible in China: in salsa bands and with DJs, in clubs and on TV, and that’s how he learned to inject his music with a variety of new sounds.

As a solo artist, Croker experienced a steady rise, and he now has four albums to his name. Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant said Escape Velocity (2016) was one of the better jazz records of recent years, and Star People Nation, his latest release, received a lot of laudatory reviews. The trumpet virtuoso is also popular among his colleagues: he was featured on Common’s Black America Again, J. Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Only and Ari Lennox’s debut record Shea Butter Baby. With a sound that stretches from Donald Byrd to J. Cole, Croker has both jazz standards and hip hop classics up his sleeve. We can’t wait for his BIRD debut on 15 October!