Hilary Seabrook - writer, podcaster, musician

Big Wade and Black Swan Theory collectively blends funk, soul, jazz and everything that fills the cracks between those genres: his new album -  Piano Man - on all major streaming platforms ahead of the Piano Man Tour 2024 , which has dates across the US. Piano Man  brings a selection of original and covers, including a stunning version of Autumn Leaves , which reinvents the song as the funky, electronic Autumn . Big Wade's voice takes the song's melody and improvises around and around, with backing vocals and a deliberately sparse arrangement underpinning the song. Similarly, on Children of the Ghetto , the lead and backing vocals blend in with the soulful musicians of Black Swan Theory. Electronics are used with dexterity, often expanding the vocal lines, as in the ethereal and ghostly opening of Don't Let Me Go . However, the tools never dominate - simply adding depth and layers to the funk. Never more than when Big Wade enters a new world in Interludes , including vocals...

Pianist, composer and bandleader  Joey Alexander has recently released his seventh album - Continuance - and he joined me to discuss it on Harmonious World. We chatted just hours after he complete a five show run at New York's 'Birdland' jazz club to officially launch the album. Joey is an interesting young man and a truly phenomenal pianist and composer. Thanks to Joey for joining me in conversation and for sharing tracks from Continuance  for me to play alongside our conversation.

For the fans, by the fans: 'From the Caribbean 2 Coventry' is a fascinating collection of the positive influences on British youth culture. This is an extraordinary selection of facts, photos and music that should give you even more reason to visit the brutalist marvel that is the Barbican centre. At 'From the Caribbean to Coventry' with Gary Crowley and Tony Minvielle I was fortunate to attend the official opening of the exhibition and meet up with some friends with a mutual love of the music and the ethos behind 2 Tone Records, which makes up at least part of this fascinating story. Jazz Fm presenter and writer Tony Minvielle has an incredible story to tell about music in the UK and beyond and there was a panel displaying his family history that shed some light on his influences. His voice and his words have popped up frequently in my own musical education and it was great to spend time chatting about music and musicians. It was also a delight to catch up with old fri...

Multi award-winning jazz vocalist Ian Shaw is reaching the end of his residency at Pizza Express in the heart of London's Soho. Joined by many of his friends (the listing reads like a Who's Who of British jazz), the gig I caught featured saxist Tony Kofi. This quartet is extraordinary and their performance celebrated the upcoming album dedicated to Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington. There will be a review in due course. Shaw and Kofi were joined by Barry Green (piano) and Dave Green (drums) and the quartet engaged a sell-out Pizza Express. Upcoming gigs included Shaw joined by Claire Martin, Elaine Delmar, Guy Barker and Natalie Williams. When you have a chance to hear him sing, please do so - you won't be disappointed.

The rather marvellous Yakul have released their 12-track album of live recordings from Pizza Express Live in London. Take a listen if you can and watch out for my review on KindofJazz.com

I met arranger, orchestrator and composer Jeff Atmajian at Abbey Road studios in November, while visiting past Harmonious World guests Michael Shapiro and Danae Xanthe Vlasse . Jeff kindly agreed to be interviewed by me in person, so we met in Islington a few weeks later, while he was finishing conducting a recording for the UK TV show 'Call the Midwife'. Jeff is intensely interesting and finding questions to ask him was a breeze. He has worked on many film scores and those for some of the best-known film and TV composers in California and London. The tracks you hear at the start and finish of the show are from 'Creation: Once Upon All Time' by Carol Schuller Milner, but there are numerous tracks I could have selected as examples of his creative work. Thanks to Jeff for sparing time to join me in conversation for Harmonious World and sharing the tracks alongside our chat. We also discuss his extensive and fascinating IMDb listing. I hope you enjoy listening to our c...

Saxophonist and composer Tim Boniface brought his brand new original work 'Psalter: Themes for Peace' to St Albans Cathedral in an intensely moving experience. The music was composed for performance in the cathedral under the stunning ‘Peace Doves’ artwork that celebrates and welcomes peace. Tim selected specific readings from the Psalms, read on the evening by Canon Dr Hilary Marlow at the beginning of each of the six movements. In a fascinating balance between composition and improvisation, the music explores biblical themes and our response to diverse perceptions and expressions of peace from throughout the Psalms. Joining Tim at St Albans for this premiere were three of the UK’s foremost jazz musicians. James Pearson (piano) is often seen at Ronnie Scott’s, where he is artistic director as well as a virtuoso on the keys. Malcolm Creese (bass) was best known for his work with Cleo Laine and John Dankworth and is founding member of Jazz combo Acoustic Triangle. John Ormston ...

I've always loved the work of Val Wilmer and it was wonderful to discover one of her photographs on display in the V&A.   Wilmer was one of the founders of Format Photographers and they were highly influential in presenting the imagery of life through the 1980s and beyond. Her work is just stunning and it's great to see that being recognised.  

In which I discover how to pronoun Lopato ("You say tomato, I say tomato") and also that this album 'Short Stories' is only volume one. I'm looking forward to hearing volume two. My interview with David Lopato was an interesting one, discussing his influences and how those have all come together in this lovely album. It has been out for a few months, but I'm glad I got the chance to chat with David just before Christmas. I hope you enjoy the latest episode of Harmonious World .

Singer Lucy-Anne Daniels is very much one to watch and I can highly recommend you search for a gig where you can hear her sing and watch her own the stage. This was a delightful conversation and I'm glad to be able to share it with you at the very start of both 2024 and season 15 of Harmonious World . Although it's a great honour for me to be able to interview some titans of music, I'm going to continue to seek out new artists like Lucy-Anne (and composer of my Harmonious World theme tune, Joe English ) to promote. Watch out also for my blogs promoting upcoming gigs. If you'd like to support Harmonious World, please rate or review the podcast or subscribe to receive exclusive content and discounts on merchandise.

One of my intentions in 2024 is to include gig listings for my podcast guests, including links for booking tickets. Keep returning, as I add more dates each month. Saturday 24 February 2024: Billy Pod, JazzUp! Hitchin Catch former Harmonious World guest Billy Pod at one of my favourite venues, Club85 in Hitchin. JazzUp! has only a few shows in 2024, so don't miss this one. Saturday 3 February 2024: QOW Trio, The Verdict, Brighton Come and join the great new QOW Trio as they kick off their tour in support of their new album 'The Hold Up' on Ubuntu Music. Sunday 21 to Monday 29 January 2024: Pizza Express, Dean Street, London W1 Ian Shaw  hosts a series of events at one of my favourite venues. The residency features some of the legends of UK jazz and there's a lot to enjoy.  Take your pick from a huge selection ! Saturday 20 January 2024: The Verdict, Brighton Guitarist  Steve Banks  in one of the best clubs outside of London. Thursday 18 January 2024: Be-Bop Club, ...

Welcome to season 15 of Harmonious World . The first thing I would like to say is ‘Happy New Year’. I really hope that 2024 is a happy and healthy year for us all. Some of my guests and listeners are in parts of the world where that probably seems impossible, and I really hope that we see some progress in seeing a return to sanity and kindness everywhere. Even here in the UK, where we will almost certainly see a General Election in May. For those of you who don’t know who I am, my name is Hilary Seabrook and I’m a writer, podcaster and musician (with a little teaching thrown in). Season 14 was a spectacular one and the statistics for listeners are quite extraordinary. I’ve had some amazing guests, including Christian McBride, Soweto Kinch and an extraordinary interview with Gadi from Shalosh Trio in Israel. I also began using my theme tune, which you can hear now and was composed and performed by Joe English. As part of my blog posting schedule, I’m now uploading dates for upcoming gig...