Hilary Seabrook - writer, podcaster, musician

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.

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.

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 t...

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." Support the show Thanks for listening to Harmonious World. You can support the show by  becoming a subscriber . Please rate...

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.

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...

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.

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.

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 q uintet 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 ...