This episode of Harmonious World features composer Craig Hella Johnson, who is also Artistic Director of Conspirare.
Conspirare have a new album out, called The Singing Guitar. It details an unusual musical journey combining voices, guitars, cellos and women's stories.
Another of my heroes allowed me to interview him for Harmonious World. This time it's sax player Joe Lovano.
Joe tells tales about playing in London, with some true legends of the international jazz world. We could have gone on for hours and there's a false ending, followed by more insights into his new album - Garden of Expression - which features pianist Marilyn Crispell and Carmen Castaldi on drums. No bass player. It's a beautiful sound and the track West of the Moon which closes this podcast is ethereal and spellbinding.
Acclaimed guitarist Todd Mosby joins me for the latest episode of Harmonious World.
We all need perspective right now, and there's a lot of that in Todd's latest album - Aerial Views. Todd's comment about creating music that musicians will love to perform on is very apt and I finish with Aether, one of my favourite tracks of 2021.
My first solo training ride in preparation for September's London to Brighton bike ride. It was tough, but I managed a round trip of 25 miles, of which I am very proud.
The latest episode of Harmonious World features an interview with composer, poet and singer Lara Solnicki.
Lara's latest album - The One and the Other - is out now. It features a cinematic array of tone poems and jazz performances that are inspiring and exciting,
Christian Loffler is a composer and artist and it was a pleasure to interview him for the latest episode of Harmonious World.
Parallels is a fitting, 21st Century tribute to Beethoven, and it was released to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the composer. Our conversation explores Loffler's reworking of performances recorded in the 1920s after he was invited to experiment with the Deutsche Grammophon Shellac project.
The latest episode of Harmonious World features a duo interview with Ashley Slater and Hattie Snooks.
Ashley and Hattie are collaborating on a number of musical projects and it was great to catch up with them, especially as I have known Ashley since (as he reminded me!) 1979. As the duo Queen Mab, Ashley and Hattie are releasing the album Roll With The Punches and this episode features clips of three tracks from it.
Today was a first - I collected my bike from the repairer and took it for a spin.
Just a brief ride, but a ride nonetheless. If I'm honest, it was tougher than I expected. My legs ache a little and I can feel that I'm out of condition.
But that is what training is for.
On Sunday 19 September, I'll be cycling the 55 miles from London to Brighton. That's just over five months to get fit. Thank goodness I bought padded shorts and gloves.
Today is a small step in the right direction. A year ago, I wouldn't have contemplated such a challenge. Nine years ago, I couldn't work out why I felt nauseous and exhausted all the time. Five years ago (almost to the day), my last operation saw me reduced to being barely able to walk upstairs.
Yet here I am. You can't keep a good girl down.
It was a real honour to interview composer Michael Shapiro for the second time. You can listen to it now on my Harmonious World podcast.
Michael is a generous genius - happy to share his thoughts and feelings on his incredible music.
I interviewed sax player Dean Tsur from his lockdown home in Israel, to talk on Harmonious World about his latest album - Live From Lockdown.
The album is a collection of jazz standards, recorded in Tel Aviv with a hybrid audience in November 2020. I'm fortunate that Dean allowed me to use some clips from the album and I hope you enjoy them and our conversation.
