Hilary Seabrook - writer, podcaster, musician

It was a pleasure to interview trumpeter Muneer Nasser for Harmonious World back in March 2023, and then to review his book in August the same year. The combination of accomplished musician and fascinating historian and writer on telling his father’s story is engaging and now Muneer has released his latest quintet album: ‘ Blue House Session ’. This album takes Muneer and his trumpet around the musical world and there’s something for everyone, from originals to covers, such as Miles Davis’s All Blues and the standard Polka Dots and Moonbeams . Recorded in the summer of 2023 with a stunning band that allows the trumpeter to shine alongside the others: Elijah Easton (tenor sax), Allyn Johnson (piano), James King Jr (bass) and John Lamkin III (drums). Alongside his trumpet, Muneer grabs the flugehorn from time to time, and he almost seems more at ease on the slightly larger and more mellow horn. Muneer’s musical talent comes from a lot of hard work, but also, genetically, via his bass-p...

I'm glad that I delayed reviewing this album to the start of 2025, despite receiving a copy of it a couple of months ago. 'Ashes to Gold' from trumpeter Avishai Cohen seems to offer new hope in a troubled world. Some surprising and entrancing elements of this album bring a real sense of joy and inspiration. The five-part suite that forms Ashes to Gold begins with the unexpected sound of the trumpeter band leader on flute in a quasi-classical exposition that bursts into what is unashamedly jazz. In these days of shuffle, you can do nothing better than follow the five movements through from this rather wonderful band. For this album Avishai Cohen (trumpet, flugelhorn, flute) and has brought together Yonathan Avishai (piano), Barak Mori (double bass) and Ziv Ravitz (drums). The title and imagery of Ashes to Gold  comes from the ancient Japanese art of kintsugi, where broken ceramics are repaired using gold to make something beautiful. Avishai Cohen says: “In a way I think tha...

Welcome to the latest episode of Harmonious World , in which I interview musicians about how their music helps make the world more harmonious. In this episode, I chat with singer-songwriter   Avery Hill   about her latest album:   The One Who Remembers . The art of storytelling is important to Avery and that comes across in her music. Thanks to Avery for giving me permission to play extracts from her   The One Who Remembers   alongside our conversation. 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."

One of my last albums of 2024 has only just made it to the top of my listening pile and I'm glad it reached me. Bass player Dan Fortin has released 'Cannon' on Elastic Recordings. A collection of short explorations into jazz and electronica, all these tracks feature Fortin's bass alongside the fruit of his wider musical influences. Almost mesmeric in quality, Cannon  focuses on the bass, but includes contributions from a spectrum of guests that add to the eclecticism. This album is not for the faint-hearted, but start with Minty  featuring Toronto's Karen Ng (sax). Ng's sax and Fortin's bass come together until she closes with a harmonic sense of unison with Fortin, leaving him to explore the echoes she has left behind. There is a sparseness about this album in other tracks, too. Sometimes, using electronic sounds can be too much of a draw and they become over-used, but Cannon  is, throughout, built around the bass. Reviewing an album often seems superfluous...

If the New Year is leaving you wanting to find new music, I may have found somewhere for you to start. There is a mesmeric quality to Scottish saxophonist Phil Bancroft's new album: 'Finding Hope (When All Seems Lost)', combining as it does guitarist Graeme Stephen and table master Gyan Singh. This debut album from Bancroft's new trio - The Beautiful Storm - is out now on his own Myriad Streams platform. Taking influences from a multitude of sources, this is a brilliant album, recorded and mixed in a home studio but with a stunning sound and exciting rhythms and combinations of these three exceptional performers. Bancroft says: "This album breaks new ground for me, in multiple ways. It comes at the end of fourteen years of study with a new approach to learning and practising, opening up a whole new concept of rhythmic structure, a new approach to composition and improvisation. This is the first album to present these findings to the world.” During the recording and...

Happy New Year! Welcome to the latest episode of Harmonious World, in which I interview musicians about how their music helps make the world more harmonious. This first episode of season 19 features a conversation with saxophonist and composer  Emma Rawicz , who I saw twice at the end of 2024 - once with her own band at  Kings Place  and once at  Ronnie Scott's with Laila Biali  (who you can also hear on  episode 246 ). It was great to chat with Emma about her experiences as a musician and also about her forthcoming projects, particularly a duo with pianist and composer Gwilym Simcock. More of that to come! Thanks to Emma for giving me permission to play extracts from her 2023 album Chroma alongside our conversation. Thank you for listening to Harmonious World. Please rate, review and share: click on the link and subscribe to support the show and receive some great freebies! Don't forget the Quincy Jones quote that sums up why I do this: "Imagine what a ...