Kokoroko

KOKOROKO bring London’s new jazz energy to the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver on June 22, 2026. Led by trumpeter Sheila Maurice-Grey, the collective leans into horn-led themes, guitar lines drawn from West African highlife, and grooves shaped by Nigerian afrobeat, all grounded in open improvisation. Since the instrumental Abusey Junction on the Brownswood We Out Here compilation in 2018, the group has honed a sound that moves at an unhurried pace, with call-and-response brass, rolling percussion and melodies that settle in gradually. A self-titled EP in 2019 set the tone; the album Could We Be More in 2022 broadened the palette with voices and a touch of soul, without losing the communal pulse that drives their concerts. On stage, KOKOROKO stretch motifs, layer harmonies and let the rhythm section breathe, building patient tension over steady polyrhythms. The set shifts between contemplative passages and dance-ready grooves, carried by tight interplay and a warm, resonant brass front line.