KOKO Collective - "If I Could Write a Book" - Foyles Special

Friday 12th September, Foyles Exclusive

In its Soho Jazz Festival Debut, Foyles Bookshop joins the lineup of legendary venues hosting an incredibly special jazz performance from Soho Live legends the Koko Collective. The quartet will take over the shop’s 6th auditorium to bring their unique original show “If I Could Write a Book” to the heart of Soho. It’s a thoughtful, elegant entry into the jazz world for the literary-minded.

From Broadway to Bebop: Framing the Tale
The show title itself evokes a classic of the Great American Songbook, “I Could Write a Book”, a 1940 Rodgers & Hart composition originally featured in Pal Joey. It became a beloved jazz standard through interpretations by legends like Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sinatra.

Formed in 2018 out of London’s Soho jazz scene, the KOKO Collective is a powerhouse of UK jazz talent —renowned for combining tight musicianship with playful storytelling. The group is the brainchild of Arran Kent (wind) & James Browne (piano) whose combined approach breathes life into styles across jazz’s evolution: early swing and stride, bebop, Latin jazz, hard bop, and contemporary experiments.
Weaving the Narrative: Music & Memory
The performance threads together musical styles with the story of jazz’s arrival and adaptation in the UK. It traces how African‑American rhythms travelled—and transformed—as they met European sensibilities, cultural shifts, and London’s Soho scene. Through songs, anecdotes, and live arrangements, the Koko Collective spotlight pivotal moments and figures: the era-defining clubs, visionary musicians, and societal contexts that shaped the UK’s jazz identity.

Praise has flowed in: Sam Fraser of the BBC called the ensemble’s energy “just a little bit gorgeous and absolutely perfect!” Meanwhile, Soho Live Music Club described them as a “wealth of talent calling to mind the spirit of the hard‑swinging, exuberant jazz joints of ’50s New York”
This is a story not to be missed!