CHARLOTTE KEEFFE
Musician - Freely Improvising Trumpeter/Flugelhornist - Composer
PHOTO CREDIT NICK BRITTAIN
“One of the most exciting improvisers in the UK and beyond, her shows are in equal parts energetically joyous and delicately moving.” - Cheltenham Jazz Festival
Charlotte Keeffe wears her love for Music-making - especially freely improvising Music - boldly on her sleeve. Whether performing as a soloist, Sound Brush, or leading her adventurous ensemble RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, Keeffe carves out bold, expressive spaces for sonic exploration and individual freedom.
Inspired by abstract painters, she refers to her trumpets and flugelhorn as Sound Brushes, approaching each performance as a dynamic canvas for spontaneous creation. Jazzwise Magazine praises her work as “avant-garde for all,” and critic Kevin Le Gendre notes she “shows notable strength of character as she runs the sonic and emotional gamut.”
Keeffe’s debut album, Right Here, Right Now (Discus Music, 2021), marked her emergence as a distinctive voice in the UK and international avant-garde scenes. The record moves from intimate solo improvisations to expansive ensemble work with the London Improvisers Orchestra, earning widespread critical acclaim.
Her 2023 follow-up, ALIVE! in the studio, captures the visceral immediacy of RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW - featuring Ashley John Long (double bass), Ben Handysides (drums), and Moss Freed (guitar) - recorded live at Goldsmiths University Studios. The album was featured in several Best of 2023 lists, including Reader’s Digest.
Keeffe's music has been widely broadcast across BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 6 Music, and Jazz FM, with presenters such as Corey Mwamba, Stuart Maconie, and Jez Nelson describing her as “prolific,” “dynamic,” and “an excellent improviser!”
RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW performances include the following major festivals and venues; Germany’s moers festival (RIGHT HERE, duo with Ashley John Long), the Southbank Centre's Purcell Room, the Royal Albert Hall’s Elgar Room, London Jazz Festival, Leeds Jazz Festival, Manchester Jazz Festival, Lancaster Jazz Festival, where she was Artist in Residence 2024, Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Birmingham’s Symphony Hall and Fizzle concert series, Sheffield's Jazz at The Lescar, Cambridge's LISTEN!, Newcastle's Jazz North East program, Brighton’s Safehouse, Canterbury’s Free Range, as well as London's Café OTO, Jazz in the Round, Toulouse Lautrec, Karamel Club, Spice of Life…
Internationally, her recent performances include; Germany’s moers (as part of a collaboration with Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival) and Saarbrücken’s Free Jazz Festivals, Switzerland’s Ear We Are and JazzChur Festivals, Austria’s Wien Modern and STIO Festivals, Poland’s Spontaneous Music Festival and SWIATLODZWIEKI, plus Belgium’s Free JazzBlazzt…
She has performed a trumpet duet with the City of London for Dave Douglas’ Festival of New Trumpet Music, and is an alumni of the prestigious Serious Take Five talent development programme.
Keeffe has collaborated with icons of UK improvised music including Pat Thomas, Paul Dunmall, Julie Tippetts and more via Discus Music.
A passionate advocate for music as a force for social change, Charlotte served as Assistant Musical Director of the London Gay Big Band, and co-leads its All-Women Septet alongside her fiancée, vocalist Lara de Belder.
She has performed with Marin Alsop’s Taki Concordia Orchestra at the World Economic Forum and works actively with Women in Jazz Media - champions of gender and diversity equality and winners of a Parliamentary Jazz Award.
From intimate solo sets in abstract spaces and bustling cityscapes, to high-profile stages at Glastonbury and Wilderness Festival alongside Charlotte Church, Laura Mvula, and Kate Nash, Keeffe is a fearless creative spirit. Even during lockdown, she live-streamed concerts from her bathroom - a testament to her dedication to making Music wherever, however, and with total authenticity.
Charlotte Keeffe understands that embracing individuality and letting go of inhibitions is the surest way to access the transformative power of Music.
Facebook: Charlotte Keeffe Music
Instagram: @CharlotteKeeffeMusic
X (Twitter): @CharlotteKeeffe
Right Here, Right Now ALIVE! in the studio
Charlotte Keeffe’s RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW debut gig live at Jazz in the Round
Charlotte Keeffe’s Sound Brush; FONT/Festival of New Trumpet Music