Hilary Seabrook - writer, podcaster, musician

A packed Pizza Express in London’s Soho was blasted by The Jazz Defenders as they unleashed their new album on the world - celebrating International Jazz Day 2024 in style. The Jazz Defenders Memory in Motion is a great album, out now on Haggis Records , with touches of Horace Silver and tinges of Herbie Hancock. There was something slightly disconcerting about an electronic keyboard sitting on top of the wonderful Dean Street Steinway and George Cooper handled them both with a dexterity and panache that made it all make sense. A talented bunch, The Jazz Defenders take their influences from wherever they choose, including some of the other ensembles in which they strut their stuff.  Horns are courtesy of Jake McMurchie (tenor sax) and Nick Malcolm (trumpet) and they are as much at ease on stabbing and intricate lines as they are on solos through the tracks. A solid rhythm and added excitement comes from Ian Matthews (drums) and Will Harris (double bass and bass guitar). Matthews ...

For International Jazz Day 2024, I am joined in conversation for Harmonious World by harpist Alina Bzezhinska . Her home is wherever she finds herself and she is inspirational in her jazz and in her attitude to life. Altera Vita is out now, and it's a wonderful album featuring Alina's harp with co-musical-conspirator Tony Kofi . Thank you to Alina for allowing me to share tracks from Altera Vita alongside our conversation, and I hope you enjoy listening to them. To help Alina in raising funds for the people of Ukraine, visit her Bandcamp page. Thank you for listening to Harmonious World. Please rate, review and share: click on the link and 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." Thanks for listening to Harmonious World. You can support the show by becoming a subscriber .

The latest episode of Harmonious World takes me (virtually) to Croatia for the first time. Thanks to an introduction from previous guest William Susman , I chatted with Iva Ljubicic Lukic from the band Glazbene staze . The band's new album is Pierrot Project Op 1 and brings a real introduction to the rare pierrot ensemble. Please take some time to listen to this music from Croatia that crosses all bounds of genre. Thanks to Iva for sharing tracks from the album.

A wonderful evening spent with friends in London’s Royal Albert Hall, listening to what the music critic Hans Van Bulow described as “opera in ecclesiastical dress”. It’s a fabulous composition, performed perfectly by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. With maestro Michael Shapiro This is an intense musical work of genius, with four soloist and a huge chorus alongside the mighty RPO. As critics discuss the value of Verdi’s interpretation of the Requiem Mass, it’s impossible to dispel the impression of greatness and human emotion. For me, the RPO represents culture after the Second World War (it was founded in 1946 by he great conductor Sir Thomas Beecham) and as we all move further into the 21st century, this production is part of their ‘Icons Rediscovered’ series which is well worth exploring, whether you know some of the works to be performed or not. 

The latest episode of Harmonious World features an interview with Tobie Medland, violinist and promoter of the Gypsy Jazz Festival of London, which runs across the capital from 6 to 12 May.

It's always a pleasure when someone you know (and who hails from your home town) produces some work that is extraordinary in its beauty and lyricist. Particularly when someone you had always thought of as a bass player discovers her voice. This pleasure comes with Nature Is A Mother , the second full length album from songwriter, bassist and vocalist Charlie Pyne . Until hearing these tracks, I had never known this talented instrumentalist was also a singer and a songwriter of note. Pyne herself describes this album as: “an exploration of my life so far, as a woman, a mother and someone working in the creative industry. I hope to tell stories that everyone can relate to, from a modern female viewpoint. I really feel like I’ve found my voice with this album, and can’t wait to share the music!” These nine original compositions feature a sublime quartet that clearly work well together, particularly when producing Pyne's individual and powerful tunes. There is plenty for them all t...

More than 270 independent record shops are gearing up for the biggest celebration of the year this weekend, as Record Store Day is set to take place on Saturday 20 April. Make your way to one (or more!) of the 80+ events hosted to celebrate the day by visiting the events listing page now. Hundreds of artists, including official 2024 ambassador Kate Bush, Noah Kahan, Ringo Starr, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Gabriels, The 1975 and The Flirtations have come together to shower independent shops with a series of exclusive and limited edition vinyl releases that will be available over the counter only from the morning of Saturday 20th Ambassador Kate Bush, said: “Each year Record Store Day gathers more attention, more momentum, and attracts more people who cram into indie record stores all over the world to see what’s up. What’s new? This year, I hope you have a fantastic time at this very important event, and that you get to celebrate music that’s been specially released for you.” Letchwor...

The latest episode of Harmonious World features a conversation with Chris Newstead, founder and festival director of Watford Jazz Festival . There's loads going on at Watford (just a few miles north of London) from 12-19 May 2024. Check out the shows if you're not too far away and enjoy!

The UK is a wonderful place, but sometimes the rain just seems too much. For six days in April, I travelled around Sheffield and Derbyshire, mainly in the beautiful Peak District. It was wonderful, but definitely damp. Musical hoarding One of my favourite sights was the hoard of musical ephemera at Yellow Arch studios in Sheffield. The 'broken road' at the foot of Mam Tor Despite the rain, we made it to the top of Mam Tor One of the drains at Lady Bower Reservoir The staggeringly impressive Derwent Dam The cloud lifted (slightly) at the top of Stanage Edge The view from Monsal Head Haddon Hall proved to be impressive The view from the top of the old Hardwick Hall

 The latest episode of Harmonious World features a live conversation with bassist Mark Wade . I first met Mark immediately prior to the lockdown in 2020 and he was one of my first guests on the podcast ( episode #9 ), just a few weeks later. He had some interesting insights into the music business and playing bass around the world and it was a delight to chat with him in the recital room at Benslow Music .

Composer William Susman is nothing if not prolific and creative and scoring music for film seems to fit his character perfectly. His album Music for Moving Pictures is a stunning evocation of images on the screen that - if you listen to the soundtracks without the films themselves - allows the listener to conjure up their own moving pictures. He has appeared twice on my Harmonious World podcast to discuss some of his work. We chatted for Episode 16 in October 2020 and again for Episode 31 in February 2021.  Susman has written orchestral and chamber music for concert performance, as well as jazz and film scores. He says: 'When I compose music for a film, I try to make an organic connection to what I see and hear on screen and how I approach the score. I listen for music that may already be in the film or, perhaps performed by one of the characters.' In the past, I have listened mostly to his solo piano works and it's fascinating to hear him alongside other musicians. On ...

Welcome to season 16 of Harmonious World . I hope that 2024 is a happy and healthy year for you all so far. 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. 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). You can find out more about me on my blog - just search for Hilary Seabrook blog and you’ll find it, plus there’s a link in the show notes. There’s also lots of album and gig reviews Season 15 was a spectacular one and the statistics for listeners are quite extraordinary. I’ve had some amazing guests, including China Moses, Jeff Atmajian, Joey Alexander, Tim Boniface, Didier Recloux and Mark Lockheart. I have also been using my theme tune, which you can hear now and was composed and performed by Joe English. There are some amazing interviews alre...

I enjoyed listening to the new album from Anais Reno, out on the new PX Records from Pizza Express Live. You can read my full review on Kind of Jazz . You can also check out  Anais Reno online.

Despite the cold, it's officially spring here in the UK and there is so much great music to listen to. Let me know if you make it along to any of these gigs. I'm beginning to add gigs that are further afield, so keep them coming! Monday 8 April: Tim Boniface at Ashtead Jazz Club Tim Boniface (sax) heading a marvellous band that features Colin Oxley (guitar), Phil Merriman (bass), Jeremy Brown (bass) and Tom Early (drums). A concert of standards and original material, this will be a real corker! Tickets here: https://www.ashteadjazzclub.com Sunday 14, 21, 28 April: University Arms, Cambridge. 7:30-10pm A regular jazz night continues with  Tim Boniface  (sax) Saturday 20 April: Lulu Pierre at The Vortex,11 Gillett Square, Dalston N16 8AZ Vocalist Lulu Pierre returns to east London’s great jazz haunt – where she first met her collaborator, pianist Alex Webb. She will be performing some lesser-known pieces from the Great American Songbook, jazz classics and some surprising n...