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“Meit’s a silly story,” says King David-Ike Elechi, laughing as he recounts the beginnings of his jazz group the Knats. At school, in year seven, he befriended classmate Stan Woodward after a silent game of pink rubber. The teacher is cruel,” says Elechi, 22, who was sleeping in the dining room at Tyneside Cinema. Newcastle.
What happened was being told it wasn’t enough to cover Arctic Monkeys’ RU Mine? Woodward, also 22, was stuck on the train during the interview, but later confirmed the story on video. “We were like: fuck this guy, let’s leave this club and do it ourselves.”
Ten years later, this criticism is still strong, although it is good to be negative. What began as a DIY bedroom experiment – Woodward taught himself on guitar from Tesco, Elechi on drums he learned to play at church – has grown into a project that has already taken them to the BBC Proms. After playing in metal, grunge, reggae and house, the duo found their way to jazz through hip-hop and drum’n’bass samples, following the breadcrumb trail that led them to Charles Mingus, Miles Davis and Ahmad Jamal. The result is jazz that’s booming and multifaceted, with a sinister, menacing sound one minute, and bright, poko-led horns.
As the sound evolved, so did the Knats, with the addition of trumpeter Ferg Kilsby, saxophonist George Johnson, pianist Sandro Shar and occasional vocals from poet Cooper Robson. Found Kilsby on YouTube as a teenager, saw he lived near Hexham and found him. Now, all three are studying at Trinity Laban’s Conservatoire in London. But he insists he still – and always will – play “geordie jazz”.
There was a time when the Knats kept their music-making “secret” for fear their classmates would think jazz was “cringe”. Now, the genre is in serious danger, highlighted by the success of Ezra Collective’s Brit in 2025, when they became the first jazz group to win the British collective category. But the buzz around the UK’s jazz revival remains firmly rooted in London, from artists on the scene to young acts like Tomorrow’s Warriors and Julian Joseph. Jazz Academy.
Raised by single mothers in a working-class community, Woodward and Elechi were deeply affected by regional differences when they moved to London, and struggled to find the same reserves as their London-based counterparts. Kilsby, who was inspired to play the trumpet by his elder brother, saw firsthand the decline of arts programs in the North: “My brother played for free in a local band.
The obstacles did not knock their confidence, however. Last year, when former Black Midi frontman Geordie Greep agreed to produce their upcoming second album, Big Day in Newcastle, pro bono, the band were impressed by Greep’s musical skills in the studio. But they still objected to some of his ideas.
“They know what they want and where they are going,” said Greep on the phone. He was introduced to Knats two years ago, when Elechi sent him a follow-up request on Instagram. Greep texted back, and soon he, Elechi and Woodward were arguing like a trio. “I was shocked. They were amazing – two of the best musicians of their age that I’ve ever met,” says Greep. They don’t want to make music just for dancing and dancing.
Last year, Knats supported Greep on his solo tour, along with gigs as R&B legend Eddie Chacon’s backing band on his UK dates. The last change in style – emphasizing, as Elechi says, “subtlety and restraint” – only made the Knats sound stronger when they returned to jazz. At the Knats’ meeting at the end of Chacon’s tour, “our strong feelings grew. This went down as one of our favorite games.”
Their tour is planned throughout the spring, with a pit stop at SXSW in the US in March, but first up is the release of Big Day In Newcastle. “He’s my baby,” says Woodward, who likes to write the Knats’ songs before arranging them with the band. The story is dedicated to their hometown, teaching them lessons from their upbringing through themes that touch on masculinity and local pride. On the lead single Wor Jackie, they take the story of football and miner Jackie Milburn; Carpet Doctor, starring Greep, shows life after prison, inspired by a close friend of the Woodward family.
“But overall, this album has a good message,” says Woodward. “There is anger, but not towards other people. It’s about our communities – in a positive way, not in a sad way.”
At the heart of every song is an underlying story. Elechi said: “Geordie hope is a hard-hearted spirit that wants to devour people. “This group’s motto is: there is nothing we can do here, but we have helped.
Not forever. The Knats clearly see the importance of being in London to further their careers. But when the time comes, he plans to return home and build on the jazz that Woodward, Elechi and Kilsby had in Newcastle last year. “By the time I’m 30, I want to have Tomorrow’s War-Events that are free for kids,” says Woodward.
