Alfa Mist (UK) with special guests Swooping and Ella Haber | Vivid LIVE

It’s a global night of funky jazz improv, piano-tinged hip-hop and local soul as three of the world’s coolest acts come together for a night that’s set to have the Joan Sutherland Theatre grooving in unison.

From East London, British pianist, rapper and producer Alfa Mist makes his Sydney Opera House debut with his distinctive urban soundscapes that fuse hip-hop, soul and contemporary jazz. Inspired by his teenage exposure to grime and breakbeat, the gifted multi-instrumentalist made waves with his jazz-infused debut Nocturne (2015), and explored funk fusion and orchestral sounds on follow-ups Antiphon (2017) and Structuralism (2019). Alfa’s soul-searching fourth record Bring Backs (2021) found him layering lyrical poetry over intricate grooves, while his forthcoming album Variables – teased by the dark, introspective '4th Feb (Stay Awake)' and the improv jam 'BC' – promises to be his most expressive, fully-realised work to date.

Blowing off steam from their main gig in jazz funk favourites Hiatus Kaiyote, Swooping – aka drummer Perrin Moss, bassist Paul Bender and keyboardist Simon Mavin – have proved that their off-the-cuff side project grooves right alongside the best of their more famous incarnation. Formed as a spin-off from Hiatus Kaiyote in 2013, Swooping Duck, as they were then known, wowed audiences with their improvised sets, before releasing their debut album Improvisations, a compilation of music recorded between 2015 and 2017. Their shows are a wild, unpredictable blast – or, as the band puts it, “Just ears, adrenaline, focus, being.”

A fast-rising star on the local soul and RnB scene, 25-year-old Ella Haber is a multi-lingual, multi-instrumentalist singer and songwriter whose jazzy, soulful vocals and fresh, vibrant lyricism have earned her admirers everywhere she’s performed. Haber’s talent caught the attention of London-based Ninja Tune musician Jordan Rakei, who produced her 2019 debut EP, CLAY.