Facing / North

The name is autobiographical before it is anything else. Raba was born in the north of England and has lived and worked in the south for thirty years; the project signals a turn back toward his roots — not in genre, but in directional clarity. Plain-spoken music, played by people who can play.

The ensemble's premise is straightforward: the harmonic vocabulary and improvisational rigour of contemporary jazz fusion, married to the physical lift of funk and the rhythmic and tonal conviction of gospel. The lineage runs through Metheny and Scofield, through the Yellowjackets and Snarky Puppy, back to the Crusaders and the Hammond-led congregations that shaped the language in the first place.

Raba writes for working musicians and listening audiences in equal measure — charts that demand technical literacy from the players, but never at the expense of the groove. Virtuosity in service of feel, rather than at the expense of it.

Facing / North debuts in 2026 with an initial run of UK club and small-theatre dates, followed by studio recording. Press, booking and partnership enquiries welcomed via the contact details below.