Late Night Jazz: Ni Maxine at Royal Albert Hall

Our next Late Night Jazz artist is award-winning neo-soul singer and Breakthrough Act of the Year at this year's Jazz FM Awards, Ni Maxine.

Hailed by Black Ballad as ‘a Black woman at the forefront of the UK scene,’ her songs carry the weight of lived experience and collective memory. Her music moves between past and future, blending conscious lyricism, rich storytelling, and an unshakable sense of self. Themes of home, identity, self-worth, and belonging weave through her work, creating something that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant.

We Out Here, Mostly Jazz Funk & Soul, EFG London Jazz Festival, Africa Oyé, Brick Lane Jazz Festival, the Global Soul Showcase at the Jazz Cafe - wherever she plays, she pulls people in. A string of sold-out shows in 2024 has only added to the momentum, each one a reminder of her presence on stage. Opening for Corinne Bailey Rae on the Plum Red Lipstick tour was no exception.

The industry has been paying attention. Ni Maxine took home Best Original Track at the Youth Music Awards, locked in radio play from BBC Radio 1’s Victoria Jane Future Soul, Jamz Supernova on BBC Radio 6 Music, and Selector Radio, and delivered an iconic Soho Radio session. The tastemakers are talking. They know what’s coming. Her debut single, Strange Love was the first call to action. With her debut EP, Mother’s Arms (2025), on the horizon, Ni Maxine is positioning herself as one of the most essential new voices in contemporary music. Not just an artist - a movement in motion.