HE’S an outstanding saxophonist whose artistry and emotional power stagger the ears. Vaughan Hawthorne-Nelson was born in 1968 in Finchley, north London, his Jamaica-born Mum was a teacher and St. Kitts-born dad was a journalist. He began on classical clarinet and piano at 11, turned to saxophone at 14 and discovered jazz at 16. “I fell in love with Charlie Parker’s playing first, but it was the Marsalis brothers who really inspired me, and British trumpeter Digby Fairweather who put on a jazz workshop at school when I was 15.”

A prodigious young musician, he went to Berklee jazz college in Boston, US, when he was just 17. “It opened up a whole new world. London-based pianist Julian Joseph was my room-mate, trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis was across the hallway and saxophonists Antonio Hart and Mark Turner, and trumpeter Roy Hargrove were also my peers. We jammed, shared ideas, performed and recorded together. It was a wonderful, creative time when anything seemed possible musically. The great alto saxophonist Bobby Watson was a mentor to me — mentors are so important!”

“When I returned to London, I jammed and performed at the 100 Club, Jazz Cafe and the Bull’s Head, and made my first album, Emanon, at 19.” A powerful inspiration was the South African pianist Bheki Mseleku, with whom Vaughan made two albums in 1999. “He had such a spiritual grounding. His music was highly accomplished technically but had a depth I’ve not experienced since. He instilled in me the need to connect emotionally with the audience. The technical aspects of music should service this aim, but they are not the aim in themselves. I want to connect emotionally with those listening.”

Vaughan is a profoundly committed and serious musician but not a headliner, and “there have been times in my life when music has not been at the forefront. I knew from my early twenties that I didn't want to make music to the exclusion of other pursuits. I also teach primary school children. I find the interplay between different endeavours allows me to create music in the way I like.”

His new album is the luminous and beautifully played Redemption. He says he composed its music to showcase “the incredible playing” of his quartet-mates. Pianist Robert Mitchell is “a technical master of all aspects of the piano, particularly the percussive range of the instrument.” Bassist Larry Bartley is “a master with a deep sense of time and melody. He swings hard and drives the music beautifully.” As for drummer Mark Mondesir, he is “a virtuoso of rhythm and musical structure. He’s one of the great drummers.”

Among the album’s original compositions are two which reflect the struggles of Palestinians, Intifada and Peace in Palestine.

“My aim with the gift that I have been given, is to use it in a small way to bring light to this injustice. Our world is out of balance. Music can help to reset this and help people tune into a vibration that gives us the strength to hope, heal and help others, but also to stand up as a collective against the injustice around us.”

Another compelling and serenely echoing track is Song of the Ancestors, where Vaughan plays solo alto and soprano saxophones. “One of my mentors was Malidoma Some, a shaman from the Dagara people of Burkina Faso. He taught me this song and its significance in initiating young people into the adult world. Music, particularly drumming, has an important role in this tradition. I try to identify with this, and when this happens I feel connected to all my ancestors from the great continent of Africa.”

He plays alto and soprano through the album, “depending on the intuitive process of what sound I think works best on a particular piece. I like the mood we created on Peace for Palestine, it was just what I was hoping for, and on Redemption Mark’s playing is out of this world.”

Vaughan is a sincere and superfine jazz virtuoso who shuns the bogus false glow of superficial artifice. Come and hear him with his superb troubadouring brothers at the Vortex on July 31. You’ll love them!

Redemption is released by TLM records. For more information and upcoming gigs see: vaughanhawthornenelson.com