Renegades Of Jazz: From Rock Guitar to Afro-Jazz

Picture a bright red Volkswagen Beetle at the end of the nineties, and on its back seat an electric guitar gathering dust.

At the wheel is David Hanke, early twenties, in ripped jeans and a lumberjack shirt. His long devotion to rock is slowly fading. It is the moment when most musical ambitions give way to ordinary life. For Hanke it became a turning point, and from it came Renegades Of Jazz.

The project's name promises a restless approach, and the music bears that out. It looks away from guitar-driven rock and toward jazz, with African rhythms close behind. "Jazz Makossa" nods to Cameroonian dance grooves. "Karibu Tena" and "Harambee" take their titles from Swahili, the language of welcome and of communal effort.

The tracks also travel well. "Afro Cookie" has come back reworked by Chris Read as "Afro Concrete". "Moyo Wangu", with Hugo Kant, has a Bosq remix, and "Moto Moto" has one from KidGusto. The newest piece on our playlist is "Beneath This African Blue" (2026).

On Red Light Jazz Radio, you'll hear a rock guitarist's second act.