Yazz Ahmed

Yazz Ahmed is an English-Bahraini trumpeter, flugelhorn player, and composer, recognized as one of the most effective trumpeters in the world. Her music, which blends jazz with electronic sound design, is described as "spellbinding and captivating psychedelic Arab jazz." Passionate about music inherited from her grandmother, Ahmed continued her journey at the Guildhall School of Music, developing a unique sound that fuses Bahraini folk music, Arabic maqam, and quarter-tone flugelhorn with jazz improvisation.

Ahmed has collaborated with Radiohead, Lee Scratch Perry, These New Puritans, and Arturo O'Farrill's Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, and has performed at major festivals including WOMAD, Molde Jazz, and NYC Winter Jazz Fest. Her second album, "La Saboteuse" (2017), was named Album of the Year by The Wire magazine, while her third album, "Polyhymnia" (2019), won Album of the Year at the Jazz FM Awards and earned her the prestigious Ivor Novello Award.

With her latest album, "A Paradise in the Hold" (2025), Ahmed introduces vocals for the first time; the lyrics, inspired by the songs of Bahrain's pearl divers and traditional songs of women's drumming groups, deepen her connection to her dual heritage.