Hilary Seabrook - writer, podcaster, musician

From the opening bars of 'Katerina' - opening track on 'Keeping Company', the new album from Bill Laurance and Michael League - there is a sense of global musical collaboration that brings chills and delight in equal measure. The duo of Bill Laurance (piano) and Michael League (oud, fretless bass, vocals) came by musical chance, developing through the creation of Snarky Puppy in 2004 and now this wonderful new album from ACT Music. Laurance seems to have returned to his place at the piano (although he's always fab on electronic keyboards in a different context), while League darts effortlessly between fretless acoustic bass guitar and oud. Take a listen to Stonemaker to hear both in the raw: the rich oud and piano combination seems to work particularly brilliantly. Bill says: “The oud in itself has a specific associative space. When I compose, my aim is to transport the listener. That works with the sound of the oud. It's not a guitar, it has something exotic ab...

This year's Parliamentary Jazz Awards celebrate some of the finest talent in British jazz - it's a tough field but many congratulations to past Harmonious World guests for winning! The marvellous Alina Bzezhinska The awards come from the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Group and have been running since 2005. Jazz Album of the Year: Zoe Rahman The Colour Of Sound Jazz Vocalist of the Year: Emma Smith Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year: Emma Rawicz Jazz Ensemble of the Year: Alina Bzhezhinska ’s HipHarpCollective Jazz Venue of the Year : The Verdict Brighton Jazz Media Award: Gilles Peterson MBE Jazz Education Award: Nikki Yeoh Jazz Newcomer of the Year: Ife Ogunjobi Services to Jazz Award: George Nelson – Moment’s Notice Special APPJG Awards: Anita Wardell and Paula Gardiner

Welcome to the latest episode of Harmonious World , in which I interview musicians about how their music helps make the world more harmonious. This episode features an extended conversation with my dear friend  Michael Shapiro , who I wouldn't know if it wasn't for an introduction from  Crossover Media 's Amanda back at the start of Harmonious World. As well as our previous two interviews in  2020  and  2021 , I have spent time with Michael in Milan (where his  Frankenstein  score was performed) and several times in London. His musical passion, intellect and wit come across - I hope - in this latest episode. Alongside our conversation, you can hear extracts from Michael's flute concerto In The Light Of The Sun , performed by my previous guest  Stathis Karapanos . Get in touch to let me know what you think! 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 t...

What a beautiful album this is - a jazz trio doing what they do best, recorded in the calm of a beautiful chateau with no sheet music and no screens. I've known the music of John Parricelli for many years (we're a similar age and our paths crossed several times through the 1980s, particularly on my brief appearance with the outstanding Loose Tubes) and it is truly wonderful to hear his guitar with Lars Danielsson's bass and Verneri Pohjola's trumpet. The simply-named Trio was not recorded in a studio, but in a wood-panelled salon alongside the winemaking in France's Chateau Palmer - the second such collaboration for the winery and ACT Music. The inaugural album in 2023 was a duet between jazz pianists Michael Wollny and Joachim Kühn and was as equally delightful as the Chateau's wine (so I am told!) and this trio. Lars Danielsson saw the challenge of recording away from a traditional studio setting as “an opportunity to propose a new formula, something new, to...

If you saw the fabulous Lady Blackbird perform Reborn on this week's BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, you'll have heard backing vocals for our very own Jo Harrop. Jo's latest album is The Path Of A Tear, which came out earlier in 2024. I was lucky enough to interview Jo for Harmonious World in 2021 when her album Weathering the Storm came out. The Path Of A Tear was recorded at The Village Studios in Los Angeles in September 2023 and produced by Larry Klein, who is best-known for his groundbreaking work with a host of legendary artists including Joni Mitchell, Madeleine Peyroux and Herbie Hancock. It's a stunning album, including a number of tracks which are destined to become ear-worms. Jo's performance with Lady Blackbird demonstrates her versatility - her voice suits jazz and soul equally but her solo work, and that with some of the greats of the current London jazz scene like Jamie McCredie and Paul Edis, is simply stunning.

Welcome to the latest episode of Harmonious World, in which I interview musicians about how their music helps make the world more harmonious. For this episode, I interviewed jazz vocalist  Patrisha Thomson  about her recent album  Wild is the Wind  and especially about her extraordinary and inspirational project  Imagine and Uplift . There is lots more in the pipeline from Patrisha - as we discuss - so please do keep an eye on her website for news! Alongside our conversation, you can hear extracts from tracks from  Wild Is The Wind. Get in touch to let me know what you think! 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."

Welcome to the latest episode of Harmonious World , in which I interview musicians about how their music helps make the world more harmonious. For this episode, I interviewed bass player and composer  Matt Booth . I spoke to Matt as part of  Extended Trio  in 2022 for  episode 120  and it was good to chat with him this time about his own album of tracks, many of which were written during lockdown. Alongside our conversation, you can hear extracts from tracks from  Sun Prints . 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."

Out this weekend is the debut album from double bass player, vocalist and composer Myra Brownbridge . ' The Voyage Out ' is a delightful offering from this exceptional talent. Starting with the opening track (as is my wont), there is something essentially fresh and engaging about Brownbridge's compositional style and playing. The Voyage Out (album and track) take naming from Virginia Woolf's first novel and the composer takes inspiration from this quintessentially British writer, while embracing a jazz style that is creative and delightful. Brownbridge has selected some fine musicians for her debut album: Tom Ollendorff (guitar), Matthew Holmes (drums), George Garford (alto sax) and a guest appearance from Tony Kofi (alto sax). They perform the compositions with panache and bring their experience to one of the finest debut albums I have heard. The shortest track on the album - Entangled  - is beautifully simple, with little rhythmic variation between the quartet. M...

Welcome to the latest episode of Harmonious World , in which I interview musicians about how their music helps make the world more harmonious. For this episode, I interviewed singer, songwriter and pianist  Philippa Healey . A successful and impressive  performer  on London's West End stage and in classical crossover, Philippa has new recordings out now that show her  funky side . There's a humorous side to her lyrics and it was great fun to chat with her. Alongside our conversation, you can hear extracts from Philippa's tracks. 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."

I had the pleasure of interviewing pianist Joel Lyssarides for a  future episode of Harmonious World (watch this space) and hearing the story of his new album with bouzouki player Georgios Prokopiou - ‘Arcs and Rivers’. In the process of our conversation, it became clear that Joel is good friends with sax player Bjorn Arko , who I interviewed back in the summer.  It should not have been a surprise - all of these musicians are creative, innovative and open to inspiration from all around. Indeed, Arcs and Rivers is a really, really interesting album that brings delight in every track. It’s no surprise that it’s released on ACT Music , given the label’s record for discovering and promoting artists who bring something new and exciting to the jazz world, Combining Lyssarides' Swedish style with his Greek Cypriot heritage alongside Prokopiou's inherent Greek culture shouldn't work in jazz. Yet it does. Prokopiou talks about the history of the bouzouki and how it is - perhaps s...

‘Who We Are’, the stunning new studio album from UK pianist, composer and vocalist Ashley Henry, is out now on Naïve Records, with a new single featuring gorgeous vocals from the stunning Jackson ‘Life Is Like a Movie’. This is a classy release from one of Britain’s most talented musicians of an exciting new generation. It’s been a few months since the release of the title track as a single and it was widely well-received. Sitting somewhere alongside that crossover with mainstream pop inhabited by the likes of Ezra Collective and Gregory Porter, Henry is producing deeply moving music: ‘Synchronicity’ still gives me chills, after three plays. Another striking track is the retelling of ‘Mississippi Goddam’, with Henry’s piano playing a fitting homage to the song’s writer, Nina Simone. It’s no surprise that the inspirational Simone should be honoured by Henry, who brings jazz and cultural influences from around the world right back to London. You can tell straight away that this is a clas...

Welcome to the latest episode of Harmonious World, in which I interview musicians about how their music helps make the world more harmonious. For this episode, I interviewed Grammy-winning guitarist  Sharon Isbin  for the second time. The  first  was way back in August 2020, and she's been busy since then, creating wonderful music and working tirelessly with the  Aspen Music Festival , which this year celebrated its 75th anniversary. Sharon shared with me her album  Live in Aspen , featuring her guitar alongside legendary sarod masters Amjad Ali Khan, Amman and Ayaan Ali Bangash, together with tabla virtuoso Amit Kavthekar. Alongside our conversation, you can hear extracts from the tracks from this fabulous album. Get in touch to let me know what you think! 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 th...

Welcome to the latest episode of Harmonious World, in which I interview musicians about how their music helps make the world more harmonious. For this episode, I visited club owner Steve Rubie at the fabulous 606 Club in London's Chelsea. Steve is also a sax player, and I have known him for MANY years, since he kindly allowed me to practise in the basement club when it was originally on the Kings Road. Get in touch to let me know what you think! 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."

Welcome to the trailer for season 18 of Harmonious World , in which I interview musicians about how their music helps make the world more harmonious. 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. You will also find there lots of album and gig reviews Season 17 was another great one, and you can see a summary of it on my blog. In fact, you can see summaries of all seasons, so it’s easier to catch up with any of the episodes you may have missed. Season 18 promises to deliver lots more great interviews with extraordinary musicians, with some already recorded and a few more amazing guests scheduled in for the next couple of months. Thanks once again to Joe English for my theme tune, which you can hear now. If you want to know the names of guests in advan...

Taking the works of a musical genius like Erik Satie and reworking them in new and exciting ways nearly a century later was the starting point for Deutsche Grammophon's Fragments project in 2022. Now the label has given the compositions of Lili Boulanger the same treatment. Boulanger was the first woman to be awarded the Prix de Rome and we commemorated the centenary of her death in 2018. This iteration of Fragments takes 14 of her compositions, with some of today’s most innovative artists reworking them. A series of singles to demonstrate what 100 years looks like in celebrating music began with Nocturne by electronic duo pølaroit in February 2024 and now the whole album has been released. Fragments focuses on a wide spread of musical directions and perspectives. With Lili Boulanger, the project chose a young female composer, influenced by times of war and political instability, as well as living the typical life of a young person existing in an atmosphere of dreams, hope and...

Every once in a while, an album drops into your inbox and isn't going anywhere. Morse Code Through The Lights is just such an album. Incontrovertibly controversial, this won't be everyone's cup of tea, but this one has absolutely, instantly, made it onto my list of top albums of 2024. Drummer Tom Bancroft and his band Playtime, which began in Edinburgh as Adventures in New Music ten years ago as a weekly session, have produced something delightfully experimental and brilliantly creative. Four of Scotland's most-established jazz musicians - Martin Kershaw (sax), Graeme Stephen (guitar), Mario Caribe (bass) and Tom Bancroft (drums) - tried out new music and new ideas together. Once lockdown struck in 2020, they decided to explore the possibilities of improvising music together online, partly for something to do, and partly because it was something they could do for their audience. Most of us discovered - or thought we had - that improvising online was difficult or impossi...

Based in New York City, guitarist Taka Nawashiro brings his creative approach to his new album Lifescape.  Born in Saitama, Japan, he is one of the official artists for Spanish guitar company for Soulezza Guitars which includes world renowned artists such as Lionel Loueke and John Stowell. At the heart of his music is a post-bop virtuosity that saw him awarded the John Coltrane award from New York’s School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in 2020. After his first album as band leader - What We Do Now - Nawashiro has released Lifescape to great acclaim. Recorded in New York with two different bands, and then overdubbed in Tokyo with Tomoaki Baba, Kurena Ishikawa and others, Lifescape tells the artist’s life story, while encouraging us all to tell our own and listen to the stories of others. Although the album is reminiscent of Pat Metheny, Promise of 60  owes more to George Benson, with vocals that seem to welcome the idea of promise of life at different stages. The beaut...

Update: composer/Bandleader Christopher Zuar Earns 2025 Grammy® Nomination in the category of Best Instrumental Composition An album that has been sitting awaiting a proper review is Exuberance from composer and bandleader Christopher Zuar: having now listened, I am regretting the weeks without this music in my life. This is more than a big band album, with a complexity and intricacy to the writing and playing that can only be described as sumptuous. Apparently a record of Zuar's person evolution through his relationship with his wife and collaborator, Anne Beal,  Exuberance is bursting with life, just as Beal's artwork seems to exude vitality. Conducted by Mike Holober, the ensemble features a superb collection of first-call musicians that includes Pete McCann (guitar), Glenn Zaleski (piano), Drew Gress (bass), Mark Ferber (drums), Rogerio Boccato (percussion) and a horn section that includes Charles Pillow, Jason Rigby, Ben Kono, Dave Pietro, Tony Kadleck, and Ala...

British six-time Grammy winner Jacob Collier and Norwegian alt-pop superstar AURORA have recorded a performance in partnership with Greenpeace International to highlight the urgent need to protect the oceans and stop deep sea mining. It's just gone live, so watch it here ... Watch the performance here Jacob Collier and AURORA for Greenpeace British six-time Grammy winner, Jacob Collier, has collaborated with Norwegian alt-pop superstar, AURORA, for the first time in a magical performance in the Arctic, released today. The stars appear together on a platform floating amidst icebergs in front of the imposing glacier, Sveabreen, Svalbard. They perform a haunting mash-up of their two songs, A Rock Somewhere and The Seed, in a rallying cry for ocean and climate protection. The creative performance was delivered in partnership with Greenpeace International from the organisation’s ship Arctic Sunrise. The singer songwriters have joined forces in the fragile Arctic to highlight the urgent ...

October has come in with shorter days and darker mornings here in the UK, but I hope it finds you well and looking forward to some great nights listening to some excellent music. Check out some of these venues and events below, especially those featuring past guests on the Harmonious World podcast: Thursday 3 October: Low Four Studios, Manchester Sax player, clarinettist and composer Tom Thorp brings his Ilumetris ensemble to perform tracks from Here, There Be Monsters, alongside Neil Yates (trumpet and Flugelhorn, Andy Stamatakis-Brown (piano), Grant Russell (bass) and John Arnesen (drums).  Click here for tickets & info Friday 4 October: Pump House Theatre, 5 Local Board Rd, Watford WD17 2JP Celebrating the Sarah Vaughan Centenary: to mark Sassy’s 100th, a show starring Lulu Pierre and Marvin Muoneke, which recreates highlights of the Sassy repertoire and the famous duets with Billy Eckstine – as well as her work with Tony Bennett and Joe Williams. With the Alex Webb Qui...