Hilary Seabrook - writer, podcaster, musician

Welcome to the latest episode of Harmonious World , in which I interview musicians about how their music helps make the world more harmonious. For the third time, I enjoyed chatting with pianist, composer and vocalist  Laila Biali , who has just released  Wintersongs . I'm very much looking forward to catching up with Laila when she brings her tour to London next week. Thanks to Laila for letting me play tracks from the album alongside our conversation and I hope you enjoy listening to them. 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." Support the show

Eminent trombonist Dennis Rollins was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2018 - and rightly so. This is a man who is passionate about the importance of education. Evidence of that commitment was clear at the West Road Hall, part of the Cambridge University Music Department, as part of the Cambridge Jazz Festival.  Alongside visual artist in residence Gina Southgate, Dennis has been on hand for whole festival as ambassador for the very best in a British jazz. If you’re unfamiliar with Dennis’s name, you almost certainly are familiar with his playing. He’s the trombonist of choice for many local and visiting musicians and he’s been heard with Jamiroqui, Brand New Heavues, Courtney Pine and Monty Alexander.  I was delighted to be able to grab a chat with Dennis during the interval of this show at West Road, which will appear on Harmonious World in the coming weeks, CUJO is an impressive collection of jazz musicians studying at Cambridge and they were well-rehearsed, perfo

One of my top gigs of 2024 - an extraordinary evening with Emma Rawicz (sax), Laura Jurd (trumpet), Conor Chaplin (bass), Jason Rebello (piano) and Anton Eger (drums).  Read my review on The Riff . 

I’m delighted to have become an industry partner to the International Songwriting Competition .. This is an organisation that is actively promoting the art of songwriting globally - I’ve interviewed Jim Morgan from the ISC. Watch this space!

It was a joy to chat with pianist   Joel Lyssarides  for Harmonious World .  His latest album is   Arcs and Rivers , in collaboration with bouzouki player   Georgios Prokopiou : as usual, this is a classy album from ACT Music. You can read my review of   Arcs and Rivers   here . Thanks to Joel for letting me play tracks from the album alongside our conversation and I hope you enjoy listening to them. 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." Support the show

This Friday sees the start of an impressive schedule for the EFG London Jazz Festival . Tonight was the official opening of a new venue. The Jazz Social will be the place to hang out. Just around the corner from London’s vast Barbican Centre, this will be an intimate stage and bar for catching your breath and possibly some visiting musicians.