Finding joy through comedy-rap-jazz | Harry Baker & Chris Read | TEDxUniversityofBristol

As schoolchildren Harry and Chris, a poet and a musician, once played covers of their favourite songs from the charts. Now after pursuing their own blossoming solo careers they have returned to work together to create something new. In this talk they bring their own brand of comedy-rap-jazz to the University of Bristol. Their performance is a combination of sharing a couple of their absolute faves and distilling their process and the motivation behind their music. It is about how to find space for the day-to-day moments of joy in the world, not as a means of turning one’s back on reality of what’s going on in the world, but as a way of finding an alternative narrative that can parallel to and in amongst it. Harry Baker has loved words from a young age and been a full-time poet since he graduated from Bristol with a maths degree in 2015. Most commonly this takes the form on standing on stages and sharing his words with others, but he is always looking to collaborate with new people and find new places to take it. Harry became the youngest ever Poetry World Slam Champion in 2012, and his first collection of poems The Sunshine Kid was published with Burning Eye in December 2014 - he is currently working on his second collection, as well as regularly giving workshops and performances and having fun touring around the UK as part of Harry and Chris.
Chris Read lives and works in his hometown of London, UK, performing regularly with various lineups, mostly with Harry Baker as half of 'Harry and Chris', and sometimes with his quartet, with whom and alongside other musicians he recorded his first album, 'If I Knew', which he released in April 2016. The Chris Read Quartet is a young, energetic band focused around a raw, soulful voice and honest songwriting. The arrangements match complexity with a solid groove to present original music, and bring a modern twist to timeless standards. They are based in London and have played at countless venues around the city, as well as further afield. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx