UBUNYE, three vibrant Zulu singers, a veteran bassist who has supported Dame Vera Lynn and Ken Dodd, and a composer from Garforth near Leeds probably have a rather kaleidoscopic take on the world.

The band’s name means unity in Zulu and Ubunye return to Clitheroe next Saturday following a triumphant performance at this year’s Ribble Valley International Jazz Festival.

Their leader, Dave Evans, has been particularly inspired by the sound of South Africa and a visit to a poverty-torn township in Durban, he admits, changed the course of his life.

"I had the idea of running a music educational project in South Africa, trying to connect the children from there with kids in Leeds," said Dave. "But whatever language you speak, music connects – it doesn’t need translating.

"The South African kids recorded these beautiful songs, and it moved me so much.

"Straightaway I felt acceptance, even though I was the only white person there.

"People were living in shacks, they had very little. I went from the first world to the third world, but what I felt was a sense of deep community.

"We might have the material things here, but there’s a great humanity there, something we’ve probably lost a bit of in our country."

Evans said it was completely by chance, however, that he met the Zulu singers, Thanda Gumede, Nokuthula Zondi and Xolani Mbatha, who were then living in Huddersfield, having moved to the Yorkshire town from KwaZulu-Natal.

"Sometimes I have to pinch myself how it happened, and how Ubunye came together," he said.

"I didn’t meet any of them in South Africa, and coming together like that, the unity we feel, is incredible.

"It is a beautiful thing, and sometimes I have to pinch myself that this has happened."

Ubunye’s live shows are explosive and emotional and the stomping seven-piece fuse jazz, funk, dub, blues, gospel and African pop to create an exquisite sound.

Then there’s the deep, pounding rhythm of the African drum too, glued together with this young group of Zulu singers and seasoned British musicians, who reach back into the past to combine ancient tradition with modern flair.

"People ask me where Ubunye’s music comes from?” said Dave. “But is music ever from a particular place?

"What draws us all together is deeper than any specific part of the world, but obviously those deep African influences are there.”

He added: "We’ve played some special gigs this year, but the show at the Ribble Valley Jazz Festival was the best.

"The people who saw us play, well they came with an open mind and an open heart.

“When a gig is total communication, between audience and band, then that’s when the magic happens.”

Ribble Valley Jazz Club presents Ubunye, Clitheroe Old School Rooms, Assembly Hall, Saturday, December 8. Details from 01200 421599