'The Flower of France', as picked and performed by Quynh Nguyen

Completely by chance, the latest episode of Harmonious World follows nicely from last week's. Instead of American compositions, though, this time it's French music performed by award-winning Vietnamese American pianist Quynh Nguyen.

Quynh has gathered together some of the finest compositions of Germaine Tailleferre into a delightful album - The Flower of France.

Thanks to Quynh for allowing me to play extracts from The Flower of France  alongside our conversation.

Welcome to the new branding - Harmonious World, but better

I'm delighted that there has been a great deal of work going on behind the scenes to rebrand Harmonious World.

You'll start to see evidence on the podcast itself, but also here on my blog, where I'm reviewing gigs and albums.

For now, here's the new logo. Thanks to Richard Cave for hours of creativity and patience.

Second visit of the week to Ronnie Scott's - this time for Cafe Society Swing

There was rapturous applause from the Sunday lunchtime audience at Ronnie Scott's for Alex Webb's 'Cafe Society Swing'. A very different show to that put on earlier in the week by Christian McBride's New Jawn, but no less entertaining.

The nightclub Cafe Society was one of New York's most iconic jazz clubs, operating from 1938 to 1949 and owned by the influential Barney Josephson. Pianist, composer and arranger Alex Webb has taken the story of the club and brought it to a 21st century audience with tunes and narration performed by a strong band of some of today's biggest names in jazz.

The wrong place for the right people

Often referred to as 'The wrong place for the right people', Cafe Society played host to musical talent like Lena Horne, Sarah Vaughan and - perhaps most significantly - Billie Holiday. Webb's script and arrangements combine to make his show a wonderful snapshot of some of those performances and the social context surrounding them.

The Sunday lunchtime audience of the right people was hugely appreciative of the musical talent on stage, as a reminder of the talent from 90 years ago. The individual performances on stage were entertaining and Ronnie's has always modelled itself on the smoky jazz clubs of a bygone era, so leaving into the afternoon light of London's Soho brought us all back to today with a start.

An untold story, told for today

Alex Webb is passionate about this "untold story" and his production has been seen by audiences in London and New York itself. Watch this space for news of when you might be able to enjoy it: for now, check out the Cafe Society Swing website.

The Eiffel Tower as you've never heard it before

For this week's episode of Harmonious World, composer, organist and percussionist Joseph Bertolozzi joins me to discuss his album Tower Music (Musique de la Tour), which samples the sounds of the Eiffel Tower and creates music.

Although this is experimental classical music, it is not a difficult listen and the whole time there is something of the resonance of the Tower itself throughout.

Thanks to Joseph for allowing me to play extracts from Tower Music  alongside our conversation.

Thank you for listening to Harmonious World. Please rate, review and share and don't forget that you can also 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."

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Please rate and review wherever you find your podcasts - it really helps.

Joshua Redman's 'Where are we' reviewed for Kind of Jazz

Joshua Redman's latest album - Where are we - reviewed for KindofJazz.com

This is a stunning album which brings a new take to Redman's saxophonist credentials.

Women's Words, Sisters with Ineza and Alex Webb

The Toulouse Lautrec resounded to the vocals of the marvellous Ineza, alongside the Alex Webb Trio and trombonist Noushy.

Vocalist Ineza and pianist, arranger and composer Alex Webb presented a selection of songs penned by some of the greatest female songstresses. Peggy Lee, Dorothy Field, Billie Holiday and Irene Higginbottom were all featured. It truly was a celebration of a few of the women we hear from from time to time but perhaps less frequently than their male counterparts.

Alex Webb and his trio always provide a great backing and this was an evening where they were all given an opportunity to shine. As ever, the marvellous Charlie Pyne on bass and drummer Migdalia Van Der Hoven were more than a backing, particularly in their solos. Guest trombonist was Anoushka Nanguy, known as Noushy, who added a melodic element alongside Ineza's great lines.

It was my first outing to this wonderful club in South East London and I shall definitely be back. I was aware of the existence of the Toulouse Lautrec and somehow thought it was in a poky basement. Instead, the top floor of this glorious old pub just along from Elephant and Castle devotes its whole top floor to a jazz club with a proper bar and a great menu.

Although this was a night about women song writers, performed by a majority of female musicians, the quality was high and this is what London jazz should be - great musicians, regardless of their gender, performing together to a highly appreciative audience.

Gadi Stern from Shalosh Trio joins me from Jerusalem at this terrible time

This is a very special episode of Harmonious World.

I am joined by pianist Gadi Stern, who is one third of the Shalosh Trio. Gadi was speaking to me from Jerusalem, just hours after the start of a particularly violent and tragic escalation in the war.

There are no words to properly thank Gadi for sharing his story and that of the trio's album - Tales of Utopia. You can sense something from the incident in the middle of the episode. Thankfully, we were able to continue and all was well.

Shalosh are intending to continue with their plans to tour this album so please keep an eye open for news of their dates.

Thanks to Shalosh for allowing me to play extracts from Tales of Utopia alongside our conversation.

Benjamin Britten's tour de force on stage in London

Peter Grimes at the English National Opera was extraordinary. I've seen it three times before (including once in Paris).

   When we were buying the programme, there was a notice inside that the title role was played by understudy John Findon instead of Gwyn Hughes Jones. There was no disappointment. He clearly knew the role backwards and performed as if born to the role. If you know the opera, I hope that's not an insult, but he really was perfect.

    His role as Bob Boles was taken by Adam Sullivan, who has now become part of the ENO Chorus.

    Both Findon and Sullivan brought life to their roles and the whole production was brilliant. Of course, the orchestra - as we have come to expect at the ENO - was perfect and our seats in the dress circle gave us a view straight down into the pit.

Matthew Whitaker celebrates 'Connections' and performs at FMDG in Manhattan

Pianist Matthew Whitaker, who has been blind since birth, is giving back to the school that shaped his talent: the vital, one-of-a-kind Filomen M. D' Agostino Greenberg (FMDG) Music School.

The non-profit organization in Manhattan stands as one of the only community music schools in the country dedicated to helping people with vision loss or blindness. Matthew's impressive performance history includes prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, the Apollo Theater, and many others. He joined me for the latest episode of Harmonious World as he prepares to perform a benefit concert for his alma mater.

It was a great pleasure to chat with Matthew about his craft as a composer and pianist and especially to hear him play a little while we talked.

On 17 October Matthew's quintet and FMDG students will join him in concert. Since its inception, FMDG has helped more than 25,000 students, including notable talents such as jazz piano prodigy Matthew Whitaker and Grammy Award-winning musician and singer-songwriter Jose Feliciano, as well as children and young people enrolled in public and private schools, professional musicians, college-bound students, and people who wish to enrich their lives through lifelong learning in music in a structured and fun environment that allows for the achievement of excellence without limitations.