Known for his extraordinary bass-baritone singing voice, Marvin Muoneké currently looks like an unstoppable force in British jazz. After paying his dues for some 15 years, in 2026 he was nominated for a Jazz FM award as Vocalist of the Year. He has been three times to Armenia to sing with the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, the last time performing his own arrangements with a 70-piece orchestra as part of a Frank Sinatra concert. In December he travels to Lithuania for a big band concert. In the UK, he’s been a featured singer for the last five years with the swing orchestra Down for the Count.
He has also recently recorded a duet album with pianist Fraser Urquhart.
Marvin combines the bigger performances with a full-on programme of smaller club dates. Because he lives in Weston-Super-Mare, his schedule features regular gigs in Bristol, Cheltenham and Exeter.
He grew up in Beckton, East London. His determination to become a performer was spurred by the popularity of another bass-baritone maestro, Gregory Porter, whom he saw interviewed on TV while he was getting ready for school. 'I thought, OK, if he can do it, so can I.” At 18, he acquired his first trumpet, and he hasn’t looked back since.
Not only is Marvin Muoneké one of the vanishingly few male jazz singers on the scene, but like Mark Murphy, like Jon Hendricks, he understands the importance of communicating with audiences - something that is still rare in UK jazz.
Richmond Rhythm Club is a non-profit organisation. All the money we collect week by week goes to our regular guest speakers and performers. The guest fee we pay covers not just the time they spend with us, but the time and effort they put into preparing the sessions, travel to and from Twickenham, and all other expenses, including parking.
This fee has remained the same for the last three years, whilst elsewhere fees have generally risen in line with inflation. From 1st January 2027, we will therefore be paying guests a modest £20 extra per session. This means there will now be a small increase in payments from club members and visitors.
The current termly payment of £60 will rise next term to £70, i.e. by £1 per session. Sessional payments will rise from £8 to £10. We hope this will encourage even more people to pay termly.
We also hope everyone will understand the need to reward our guests fairly for their work. Even with these increases, a termly club member will only be paying £7 for two hours of top-quality entertainment. Unbeatable value, you must surely agree!
Peter Jones, chairman
Alan Barnes - saxophone
Pete Cater - drums
Jenny Howe - singer
Dan Redding - guitar
Marvin Muoneke - singer
Gary Crosby - bass
T J Johnson - piano
Martin Wheatley - guitar
Sultan Stevenson - piano
Mini-gig - Mark Lockheart Trio