Keith Waithe

Born in Guyana, the eldest of his parents' four children, Waithe grew up in Kitty, Georgetown.[http://www.guyanatimesinternational.com/?p=24585 "International flautist Keith Waithe"], Guyana Times International, 22 February 2013. At the age of seven he was taught to play the trumpet by his father (Darnley van Herbert Waithe, who played in big bands at the time). This led to Waithe honing his skills on the instrument by joining the Salvation Army Band and later the Guyana Police Force Band, and he subsequently took up the flute, for which he "developed a passion".[http://www.keithwaithe.com/about/index.html "About Keith Waithe"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150818170005/http://keithwaithe.com/about/index.html |date=18 August 2015 }}, official website. In 1973, he was awarded a British Council scholarship, which enabled him to study in England. He attended the University of Surrey and the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall, where he gained an LRSM diploma and PGCE Teaching Certificate.

In the 1990s he set up Essequibo Music, of which he is Director, an organisation that oversees a range of contemporary Black British artists, storytellers, poets and musicians – among them Sandra Agard (storyteller/writer), Jo-Jo Yates (kora player/master drummer/percussionist), Darryl Lee Que (Caribbean drummer and percussionist) and Helen McDonald (vocalist) – who work in educational, cultural and performances arenas, running workshops and undertaking collaborations with teachers and community project workers.[http://www.keithwaithe.com/essequibo/index.html "Essequibo Music — Who are we?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150818183811/http://keithwaithe.com/essequibo/index.html |date=18 August 2015 }}, official website.[http://www.actonw3.com/default.asp?section=info&page=conschools12.htm "Essequibo Music Group gets Year 3 into the Groove"], Acton W3, 3 May 2007. Its activities have included a residency at the Eden Project in Cornwall, an education workshop in Oxford's Pitt Rivers Museum, a series of African-themed workshops for the BBC Symphony Orchestra, as well as programmes for schools in deprived communities.Jane Harrison, [http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/whats-on/music/hanwell-flautist-creating-community-harmony-6014547 "Hanwell flautist creating community harmony"], GetWestLondon, 1 October 2013.

He also heads Keith Waithe and the Macusi Players, a group comprising musicians of Caribbean, South American, African and Indian heritage – Waithe is known to "passionately believe in supporting cross-cultural relationships".James Lachno, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/brecon-jazz-festival/8703991/Brecon-Jazz-Festival-2011-Keith-Waithes-Macusi-Players-Market-Hall-review.html "Brecon Jazz Festival 2011: Keith Waithe's Macusi Players, Market Hall, review. Keith Waithe and his band of Macusi players brought some vibrant sunshine to the Brecon Jazz Festival"], The Daily Telegraph, 16 August 2011. Using his collection of more than 200 flutes from around the world,[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01lhj04 "The Global Flute Fraternity"], Twenty Minutes, BBC Radio 3, 4 August 2012. he conjures up the sounds of animals and birds reminiscent of the tropical rainforests of his native Guyana. He has said: "...it's fascinating for me at this moment to be living in England and still be very much Guyanese. My band and I, we represent Britain, not only at home but in Europe as well. And that in itself is wonderful; for me to be able to do that ... but to also show the world that the Caribbean and South America is more than just Jamaica or Peru or Colombia; that Guyana, too, has a vibrant culture."

He makes frequent appearances at festivals in the UK, such as the Hay Festival,[https://www.hayfestival.com/p-3845-keith-waithes-macusi-players.aspx "Keith Waithe's Macusi Players"], Hay Festival, 14 August 2011. the Ealing Jazz Festival,[http://www.ealingsummerfestivals.com/performers/keith-waithe-macusi-players/ Ealing Jazz Festival] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929195531/http://www.ealingsummerfestivals.com/performers/keith-waithe-macusi-players/ |date=29 September 2015 }}, Friday 31 July 2015, Main Stage, 9.15 pm – 10.30 pm. Wessex Book Festival,[http://www.keithwaithe.com/downloads/Wessex%20leaflet.pdf "Words & World Music: Patience Agbabi and Keith Waithe"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524123306/http://www.keithwaithe.com/downloads/Wessex%20leaflet.pdf |date=24 May 2013 }}, Wessex Book Festival, 24 November 2008. and others. He has performed around the world, including in India, Denmark, Italy, Lithuania, Estonia, Sudan, Ghana, France, Geneva, Peru, Guyana, Columbia and the Cayman Islands and US, and has worked with such notable artists as Nitin Sawhney, Courtney Pine and percussionist Bosco de Oliveira.[http://www.londonlantern.com/articles/default.asp?snID=&cssType=0&Issue=200806&ID=965 "Jazz Plus at Victoria Embankment Gardens"], London Lantern, 7 May 2008. Recent activities include a 2015 national tour[http://www.keithwaithe.com/index.html "Latest News: 2015 Tour Dates"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150818180414/http://keithwaithe.com/index.html |date=18 August 2015 }}, Keith Waithe website. and the project "Fusion Journeys" in the V&A India Festival.[http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/5772/fusion-journeys-1976055640/ "Fusion Journeys – Special Events — Sat 7 November 2015"], V&A.[http://allevents.in/london/keith-waithe-the-v-and-a-fusion-journeys/545362232287057 "Keith Waithe @ the V & A – Fusion Journeys – A Fabric of India workshop & performance at the Victoria and Albert Museum!"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930140522/http://allevents.in/london/keith-waithe-the-v-and-a-fusion-journeys/545362232287057 |date=30 September 2015 }}, AllEvents.

He has also been featured often on radio programmes such as BBC Radio 4's Midweek and Kaleidoscope, Night Waves on BBC Radio 3, Mad About Music on Radio 2 and the BBC World Service's The Forum.[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02jlyff "The Forum"], BBC World Service, 17 February 2015.

In November 2008, Waithe went to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Kampala, Uganda, where he took part in a programme of cultural events that involved bringing together classically trained British musicians with traditional Ugandan music players, as well as working with the African Children's Choir.

Waithe has been involved with a number of literary ventures over the years, such as the International Book Fair of Radical Black and Third World BooksMichael Horovitz, [http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/22nd-december-1990/75/poetry-recordings "Poetry recordings"], The Spectator, 22 December 1990. (1982–95, organised by Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications, New Beacon Books and Race Today), and has worked with a wide variety of spoken-word artists and poets, including John Agard,[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fazdum1hm3g "John Agard and Keith Waithe"], 2009. YouTube.[http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852249919 "John Agard live with Keith Waithe"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623042002/http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/titlepage.asp?isbn=1852249919 |date=23 June 2015 }}, from Alternative Anthem DVD-book (2009). Bloodaxe Books. Sandra Agard, Kwame Dawes,Kevin Le Gendre, [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books-the-busiest-man-in-literature-1173453.html "Books: The busiest man in literature"], The Independent, 23 August 1998. Patience Agbabi, Inua Ellams, John Lyons and Jean Binta Breeze.[http://www.johnlyons.org/includes/user_items/user_items_pop.php?user_item_id=67 Music and poetry event] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929070156/http://www.johnlyons.org/includes/user_items/user_items_pop.php?user_item_id=67 |date=29 September 2015 }} at the British Museum.

Waithe's most recent CD, Gathering Echoes, was released to critical acclaim, with the reviewer for Caribbean Life (New York) referring to it as "a significant milestone.... With this CD, Waithe, a phenomenal flautist, has proven that he has gotten better with age, appealing to a new generation of music lovers."Tangerine Clarke, [http://www.keithwaithe.com/reviews/index.html "Keith Waithe releases new CD"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125201949/http://keithwaithe.com/reviews/index.html |date=25 January 2016 }}, Caribbean Life (New York), 11 November 2009.

Honours that Waithe has been accorded include in 2003 the Wordsworth McAndrew Award,[http://www.landofsixpeoples.com/news303/nc309143.htm "Makooshi Sounds"], Guyana Chronicle, 14 September 2003. Reprinted at Guyana: Land of Six Peoples. presented by the Guyana Folk Festival (New York) to celebrate Guyanese who have made important contributions to the country's cultural life, and in 2010 a WOM@TT Best of British Award.[http://www.ethnicnow.com/media/tv/world-class-flautist-womtt-best-of-british-award-winner-keith-waithe-to-appear-on-vox-africasshoot-the-messenger/ "World Class flautist & WOM@TT Best of British Award Winner Keith Waithe to appear on Vox Africa's Shoot the Messenger"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929173056/http://www.ethnicnow.com/media/tv/world-class-flautist-womtt-best-of-british-award-winner-keith-waithe-to-appear-on-vox-africasshoot-the-messenger/ |date=29 September 2015 }}, Ethnic Now.[http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=60559 "WOM@TT Xmas/Birthday special"], All in London.

He was invited by the government of Guyana to perform at the country's golden jubilee celebrations in May 2016.Nicole-Rachelle Moore, [http://socanews.com/news/guyana-land-of-many-waters-is-50/ "Guyana – Land of many waters is 50"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160522194806/http://socanews.com/news/guyana-land-of-many-waters-is-50/ |date=22 May 2016 }}, Soca News, 19 May 2016.

On 9 November 2023, at the 57th Convocation ceremony of the University of Guyana, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in recognition of excellence in the arts.

;CDs

• The Very Best of Keith Waithe (Essequibo Music, 2015)
• Earth Flight The Direction (Essequibo Music, 2014)[http://www.openealing.com/events/open-music-4/ "Open Music"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930160037/http://www.openealing.com/events/open-music-4/ |date=30 September 2015 }}, Open Ealing, 25 July 2015.
• Gathering Echoes (Essequibo Music, 2010)
• Diverse Canopy (2005)
• With various artists:Music Orchids For You — Is We Ting (A Compilation Of Guyanese Music; Guyana Cultural Association NY, 2003)[http://www.discogs.com/Various-Is-We-Ting-Music-Orchids-For-You-A-Compilation-Of-Guyanese-Music/release/6230835 "Various – Is We Ting – Music Orchids For You – A Compilation Of Guyanese Music"] at Discogs.
• Mellifluous: Blossoming Into Truth (2003)
• Magic of Olmec (Keda Records)[http://www.keda.co.uk/docs/itempage_artist.aspx?artist_id=171&txtKeyWord=&show_all=T "Magic of Olmec"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929153141/http://www.keda.co.uk/docs/itempage_artist.aspx?artist_id=171&txtKeyWord=&show_all=T |date=29 September 2015 }} at Keda Records.
• Last of the Medicine Men (2000, BBC Music)[http://www.allmusic.com/artist/keith-waithe-mn0001532335/discography "Last of the Medicine Men"] at AllMusic.
• Live in Concert: Rhythms of Freedom (Essequibo Music, 2000)

;DVD

• Now is the Time — Keith Waithe & the Macusi Players

;LP

• With various artists: Come From That Window Child — An Anthology Of Poetry & Music (Friends of Bogle, 1986)[http://www.discogs.com/Various-Come-From-That-Window-Child-An-Anthology-Of-Poetry-Music/release/6977833 "Various – Come From That Window Child (An Anthology Of Poetry & Music)"] at Discogs.

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20150818180414/http://keithwaithe.com/index.html Keith Waithe] official website.
• [https://www.facebook.com/keith.waithe.5 Keith Waithe] and [https://www.facebook.com/Keith-Waithe-and-The-Macusi-Players-260709140700042/timeline/ The Macusi Players] on Facebook.

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Category:Living people

Category:20th-century flautists

Category:20th-century jazz composers

Category:21st-century flautists

Category:21st-century jazz composers

Category:Guyanese people of African descent

Category:Alumni of the Royal Military School of Music

Category:Alumni of the University of Surrey

Category:Black British musicians

Category:British jazz flautists

Category:Guyanese emigrants to England

Category:Guyanese musicians

Category:Musicians from Georgetown, Guyana

Category:Recipients of the Wordsworth McAndrew Award

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)