Hilary Seabrook - writer, podcaster, musician

I had the pleasure of interviewing pianist Joel Lyssarides for a  future episode of Harmonious World (watch this space) and hearing the story of his new album with bouzouki player Georgios Prokopiou - ‘Arcs and Rivers’. In the process of our conversation, it became clear that Joel is good friends with sax player Bjorn Arko , who I interviewed back in the summer.  It should not have been a surprise - all of these musicians are creative, innovative and open to inspiration from all around. Indeed, Arcs and Rivers is a really, really interesting album that brings delight in every track. It’s no surprise that it’s released on ACT Music , given the label’s record for discovering and promoting artists who bring something new and exciting to the jazz world, Combining Lyssarides' Swedish style with his Greek Cypriot heritage alongside Prokopiou's inherent Greek culture shouldn't work in jazz. Yet it does. Prokopiou talks about the history of the bouzouki and how it is - perhaps s

‘Who We Are’, the stunning new studio album from UK pianist, composer and vocalist Ashley Henry, is out now on Naïve Records, with a new single featuring gorgeous vocals from the stunning Jackson ‘Life Is Like a Movie’. This is a classy release from one of Britain’s most talented musicians of an exciting new generation. It’s been a few months since the release of the title track as a single and it was widely well-received. Sitting somewhere alongside that crossover with mainstream pop inhabited by the likes of Ezra Collective and Gregory Porter, Henry is producing deeply moving music: ‘Synchronicity’ still gives me chills, after three plays. Another striking track is the retelling of ‘Mississippi Goddam’, with Henry’s piano playing a fitting homage to the song’s writer, Nina Simone. It’s no surprise that the inspirational Simone should be honoured by Henry, who brings jazz and cultural influences from around the world right back to London. You can tell straight away that this is a clas

Welcome to the latest episode of Harmonious World, in which I interview musicians about how their music helps make the world more harmonious. For this episode, I interviewed Grammy-winning guitarist  Sharon Isbin  for the second time. The  first  was way back in August 2020, and she's been busy since then, creating wonderful music and working tirelessly with the  Aspen Music Festival , which this year celebrated its 75th anniversary. Sharon shared with me her album  Live in Aspen , featuring her guitar alongside legendary sarod masters Amjad Ali Khan, Amman and Ayaan Ali Bangash, together with tabla virtuoso Amit Kavthekar. Alongside our conversation, you can hear extracts from the tracks from this fabulous album. Get in touch to let me know what you think! Thank you for listening to Harmonious World. Please rate, review and share: click on the link and  subscribe  to support the show. Don't forget the Quincy Jones quote that sums up why I do this: "Imagine what a harmon

Welcome to the latest episode of Harmonious World, in which I interview musicians about how their music helps make the world more harmonious. For this episode, I visited club owner Steve Rubie at the fabulous 606 Club in London's Chelsea. Steve is also a sax player, and I have known him for MANY years, since he kindly allowed me to practise in the basement club when it was originally on the Kings Road. Get in touch to let me know what you think! Thank you for listening to Harmonious World. Please rate, review and share: click on the link and  subscribe  to support the show. Don't forget the Quincy Jones quote that sums up why I do this: "Imagine what a harmonious world it would be if every single person, both young and old, shared a little of what he is good at doing."

Welcome to the trailer for season 18 of Harmonious World , in which I interview musicians about how their music helps make the world more harmonious. For those of you who don’t know who I am, my name is Hilary Seabrook and I’m a writer, podcaster and musician (with a little teaching thrown in). You can find out more about me on my blog - just search for Hilary Seabrook blog and you’ll find it, plus there’s a link in the show notes. You will also find there lots of album and gig reviews Season 17 was another great one, and you can see a summary of it on my blog. In fact, you can see summaries of all seasons, so it’s easier to catch up with any of the episodes you may have missed. Season 18 promises to deliver lots more great interviews with extraordinary musicians, with some already recorded and a few more amazing guests scheduled in for the next couple of months. Thanks once again to Joe English for my theme tune, which you can hear now. If you want to know the names of guests in advan

Every once in a while, an album drops into your inbox and isn't going anywhere. Morse Code Through The Lights is just such an album. Incontrovertibly controversial, this won't be everyone's cup of tea, but this one has absolutely, instantly, made it onto my list of top albums of 2024. Drummer Tom Bancroft and his band Playtime, which began in Edinburgh as Adventures in New Music ten years ago as a weekly session, have produced something delightfully experimental and brilliantly creative. Four of Scotland's most-established jazz musicians - Martin Kershaw (sax), Graeme Stephen (guitar), Mario Caribe (bass) and Tom Bancroft (drums) - tried out new music and new ideas together. Once lockdown struck in 2020, they decided to explore the possibilities of improvising music together online, partly for something to do, and partly because it was something they could do for their audience. Most of us discovered - or thought we had - that improvising online was difficult or imposs