‘Transatlantic’ from Garrett Keast and the Berlin Academy of American Music

Conductor Garrett Keast joined me for a delightful conversation about music, Berlin and specifically the debut album from the Berlin Academy of American Music.

    Transatlantic is a wonderful album and I highly recommend it for the dedicated classical music fan and for those looking for something new to listen to. There's new and more traditional American compositions, including Copland's Appalachian Spring and Stravinsky's Dumbarton Oaks. 

    Thanks to Garrett for allowing me to use tracks from the album alongside our conversation.

Merry Christmas - a special episode for Harmonious World

My interview for this Christmas special is with Daniel Hyde, Musical Director of The Choir of Kings College Cambridge. The choir's album - In the Bleak Midwinter - reflects the extraordinary Christmases of both 2020 and 2021. 

    The next tracks I discuss in this episode are a variety, all released in time for Christmas this year and I hope you enjoy the work of these artists:

* Sancta Nox: Christmas Matins from Bavaria from the Seminarians of Wigratzbad
* The Mass by Patrick Cassidy
* More Honourable than the Cherubim by PaTRAM Institute Male Choir
* Winter Tales by Various Artists
* Boogie Woogie Santa from Lyn Stanley

    Thanks to all these amazing artists for allowing me to use clips of their tracks in this special Christmas episode. Please do let me know which tracks you enjoyed the most.

    Merry Christmas to you all.

A Tuesday podcast with ‘Tues Days’

I was delighted to be joined by soprano sax player Jane Ira Bloom for our second interview alongside her collaborator, drummer and percussionist Allison Miller.

    Tues Days is the pair's album of improvised sax and drum duets recorded in March and April 2021. The music is both rhythmic and lyrical, displaying a very clear exploration of their productive Tuesdays playing together.

    Thanks to Jane and Allison for allowing me to start and finish this episode with tracks from the album alongside our conversation.

‘In These Trees’ collaboration

Orchard starts and finishes this week's episode of Harmonious World, as I discuss the writing and recording of the track with writer and radio host Binnie Klein.

     Binnie’s brand new collaborative project is very exciting and includes a video for Orchard, which features the voice of Australian artist Tartie.

    Thanks to Binnie for allowing me to start and finish this episode with the single alongside our conversation.

'Look at What a Mess You Made of Me'

This week's episode of Harmonious World starts with a composition by my guest, John Finbury and the glorious bass of Christian McBride.

     John has three singles out now - Look at What a Mess You Made of Me, Boulevard and Ring the Bells, the latter of which was composed in memory of the late, great, Chick Corea.

     John talked through the composition and recording process behind each of the tracks and it was a fascinating conversation.

     Thanks to John for allowing me to play extracts from the three tracks alongside our conversation.

Right book, right time.

I've been meaning to write this blog for several days. Suddenly, it became particularly apposite.

    At the October meeting of my book club, we needed to choose our November reading material and we settled on David Harewood's 'Maybe I Don't Belong Here'. There were several books suggested, but we were intrigued by the story of an actor who appeared to have struggled with his mental health and discussed it publicly. At that point, none of us had seen Harewood's BAFTA-nominated, BBC documentary 'Psychosis and Me'.

    When we gathered in November at our beautiful venue, Hitchin's historic Kite at the Red Hart, there was an overwhelming sense of appreciation for the book, for the honesty of the writer, and for the way this autobiography resonated with so many of us.

    I'm choosing not to attribute any of my comments to real people - if members of the book club choose to tell their own story and give their own response to the book, I'd be delighted if they could make their own comments below.

    Adam had a close family member whose own difficult and life-changing story was told to great effect in public. None of us had known that before we began discussing Harewood's story and we were all moved to compare the two stories: it's likely that this other family member would not have been mentioned without us all reading 'Maybe I Don't Belong Here'. Adam also talked another close family member who is a person of colour, and several of us were as distressed to hear some of their experiences as we had been about Harewood's.

I enjoyed reading much of this alongside a vegan bacon butty and a peppermint tea!

These are, indeed, 'Precious Days'

 This episode of Harmonious World features talented singer, lyricist, writer and arranger Ami Oprenova.

    Ami's album - Precious Days - brings together a huge range of musical influences. It owes something to Ami's time with gypsy swing group Coco 'n' the fellas, as well as jazz, swing and blues. All with a bit of European folk music.

    Thanks to Ami for allowing me to play extracts from Previous Days alongside our conversation.

'Shadow Plays', recorded right before lockdown

I'm joined by the hugely talented and inspirational pianist Craig Taborn for the latest episode of Harmonious World.

    Shadow Plays is out now on ECM records and is produced by the prolific Manfred Eicher. Recorded at the Wiener Konzerthaus on 2 March 2020, this is a real musical moment in time and you can hear Craig and I discuss the start of the pandemic as he experienced it at the end of a fractured tour that nevertheless produced this wonderful album.

    Thanks to Craig for allowing me to play extracts from Shadow Plays alongside our conversation.

Going back 40 years

My time at university was decidedly eventful and one of my closest friends at the time and through it all was another English student called Alix.

    When she married her boyfriend - Kevin - she asked me to play flute at the wedding and I was delighted to do so.

    This weekend, I spent once again in Alix and Kevin's company, almost exactly forty years after we first met. The event was their daughter Rebecca's wedding and it was a lovely occasion.

    It felt like coming full-circle.

    Here we are. I don't think there are any photos of us from 1981, but we have certainly all changed a lot. Still smiling, though.

Jon Gordon 'Stranger Than Fiction'

I was joined by sax player and composer Jon Gordon for the latest episode of Harmonious World.

    Jon's latest album is Stranger Than Fiction - a fabulous collection of tracks that reflect something of Gordon's response to the crises facing us in the world around us. This conversation was a joy and I hope you enjoy listening in.

    Thanks to Jon for allowing me to play extracts from Stranger Than Fiction alongside our conversation.

'Before I Go'

Award-winning composer and pianist Matthew Puckett joins me for this episode of Harmonious World.

    Before I Go is a wonderful soundtrack to a new movie of the same name. Matthew has worked with director Eric Schaeffer on several of his films and their creative partnership continues with this beautiful soundtrack.

    Thanks to Matthew for allowing me to play extracts from Before I Go alongside our conversation.

'With Malice Toward None'

This episode of Harmonious World features a conversation with violinist Matthew Detrick, who is also Artistic Director of the Apollo Chamber Players.

    Apollo Chamber Players are a busy group of musicians who are working on a whole series of fascinating musical projects, including the album With Malice Toward None which came out in August. We barely scratched the surface in our chat, but I hope it gives a little insight into their creativity and remarkable music.

    Thanks to Matthew and Apollo for allowing me to play extracts from With Malice Toward None alongside our conversation.

'Bliss' from RIOPY

Another fascinating conversation for Harmonious World, this time with pianist RIOPY.

    This was a great pleasure, to both interview RIOPY and, indeed, listen back to our conversation in editing this episode. His album, Bliss is out now and I hope you enjoy listening to the clips I'm including.

    Thanks to RIOPY for allowing me to play extracts from Bliss alongside our conversation.

'Nostalgic Russia'

 I hope you'll enjoy listening to my conversation with violinist Hideko Udagawa for my podcast, Harmonious World.

    Nostalgic Russia - Hideko's latest album - is out now and features some of the most gorgeous pieces written for violin and piano, and transcriptions of two pieces that were originally written for solo piano. We discuss all this and more and I hope you enjoy listening.

    Thanks to Hideko for allowing me to play extracts from Nostalgic Russia alongside our conversation.

'All Is Not Lost'

I hope you'll enjoy listening to my conversation in the latest episode of Harmonious World with pianist and composer Lisa Swerdlow.

    Lisa's latest single is All Is Not Lost and we discuss that, together with her Coming to America concerto, which is also available now. Lisa is a beautiful pianist and these compositions have a great deal to offer, both musically and philosophically.

    Thanks to Lisa for allowing me to play extracts from both All Is Not Lost and Coming to America alongside our conversation.

'Overpass' by Marc Johnson

Another delightful and hugely talented guest on Harmonious World and this time it's bassist, Marc Johnson.

    Marc's latest album, Overpass, is out now on ECM Records. and I hope you enjoy listening to the sample of the tracks on the podcast. It's a fascinating album and beautiful music - some standards and some originals.

    Thanks to Marc for allowing me to play extracts from Overpass alongside our conversation.

Moscow calling ...

With apologies for the quality of this interview, where technology between the UK and Russia wasn't always reliable, but this is nevertheless a great interview with an outstanding sax player, Igor Butman.

    We had a fascinating discussion about his music and the bridge he is constantly building between Moscow and New York. His new album - Only Now -  is available now. I cannot recommend it highly enough and I hope the two tracks I've included here give some indication of the quality you'll enjoy. And if you have ever considered a trip to Moscow, this time next year will be the time to go, when Igor is set to help celebrate 100 years of Russian jazz with a concert at the renowned Bolshoi Theatre on 1 October 2022.
 
    Thanks to Igor for allowing me to play extracts from Only Now alongside our conversation.

Another blast from my past

Another blast from my past - I discovered on interviewing guitarist Chris Standring that we were undoubtedly in the same room or on the same stage in the past.

    His album - Wonderful World -  is out now and it's a delightful collection of jazz standards accompanied by stunning strings.  We discussed my two favourite tracks - Green Dolphin Street and Autumn in New York - and it's great to play extracts from both to accompany our conversation. I hope you enjoy listening to our chat, especially as we deviate into name dropping our mutual friends.
 
    Thanks to Chris for allowing me to play extracts from Wonderful World alongside our conversation.

London to Brighton - done AGAIN

So, today I finished the London to Brighton bike ride for the second time. The first was in 1986, and I'm proud that I managed it again.

    Luckily, I had a great team alongside me and it was a lot of fun (apart from the rain, which descended as I approached the ride towards Ditchling Beacon!).

    Here's some proof that I was actually there.

On 'Love and Other Difficulties'

It was such a joy to interview singer Carmela Rappazzo for the latest episode of Harmonious World.

    Love and Other Difficulties is a wonderful album (including pianist Oscar Rossignoli, who was a guest on episode 69) and it was a pleasure to discuss it and New Orleans in general with Carmela.

    Thanks to Carmela for allowing me to play extracts from Love and Other Difficulties alongside our conversation.

'Spirit of Cinema' - out soon

This latest episode of Harmonious World features composer, arranger and sometime keys and bass player Sacha Puttnam.

    Out shortly is Sacha's album Spirit of Cinema with the Classic Film Orchestra. This is a superb collection of Sacha's compositions that pay homage to just a few of David Puttnam's superb films. This was a great conversation - there's a lot to learn about Sacha's approach to music.
 
    Thanks to Sacha for allowing me to play extracts from Spirit of Cinema alongside our conversation.

On discovering a new singer songwriter

One of the joys of hosting the Harmonious World podcast is the artists I'm discovering and Patricia Barber is definitely a great new find to add to my list.

    With not one, but TWO albums out now, there's lots to discover, alongside Patricia's amazing back catalogue. Higher is a collection of original tracks, while Clique collects together some of the standards Patricia is used to adding to her set, as she explains during our conversation.

    Thanks to Patricia for allowing me to play extracts from Clique alongside our conversation.

Bach's cello suites in new recording

In a delightful conversation with cellist Bion Tsang, we explored some of the reasons for Bach's long-lasting appeal.

    Bion has just released a double CD collection of Bach's cello suites.  Alongside Bion's own undeniable talent, the sonorous, rare Stradivari cello combine with the acoustics of the Bastyr Chapel, Seattle to produce a wonderful album.

    Thanks to Bion for allowing me to play extracts from the album alongside our conversation. You can hear the Prelude from Suite no 1 in G major at the start, and the Gigue that finishes Suite no 6 in D major at the end.

Pianist Tim Chernikoff joins me for Harmonious World

 For this episode of Harmonious World, I chatted with pianist Tim Chernikoff.

    Tim's debut trio album - Pieces of Sanity - is out on 24 September and it's well worth a listen. beautiful original tracks by Tim himself and  covers of Wayne Short and Chick Corea tracks, as well as the stunning Till We Die by Rodgers and Hart.

   Thanks to Tim for allowing me to play extracts from the album alongside our conversation.

Afrika Love - out now

The latest episode of Harmonious World features my interview with bassist David Arend from the musical collective Alchemy Sound Project.

    Afrika Love is Alchemy Sound Project's third album and it features five tracks that individually and collective tell a story worth listening to.

    Thanks to David for allowing me to play extracts from the album alongside our conversation.

No inertia here

 Pianist Oscar Rossignoli joined me for the latest  episode of Harmonious World.

Inertia - Oscar's debut solo album - is a collection of original works and improvisations. It is a tribute to so much of the last year, and not least the passing of Chick Corea and the Covid-19 pandemic. But it is, above all, a collection of beautiful solo piano works that are original composition and improvisations.

Thanks to Oscar for allowing me to play extracts from the album alongside our conversation.

Jerod Tate - music and Mars

When I interviewed Jerod Tate for this episode of Harmonious World, we discussed everything from Greek Mythology, folk traditions within classical music to the colonisation of Mars.

    Jerod's latest album is the stunning Lowak Shoppala (Fire and Light), which features a libretto that depicts Chickasaw culture and history. There's narrators, soloists, the Chickasaw Nation Children's Chorus and Nashville String Machine. All conducted by the composer.

    Thanks to Jerod for allowing me to play extracts from the album alongside our conversation.

Real solutions to real problems

Working with @Bambuu is such a pleasure. They're working hard to find real solutions to real problems.

    Read my blog to find out more.