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Showing posts from November, 2024

Unleashing my creativity in new areas

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I was delighted to be able to help Hitchin Creative and Visit Hitchin decorate the streets of our town with the very first Winter Art Trail. Designing the posters was fun. You can read some of the press release I wrote below: Repurposing stands originally used for hand sanitisers around the town, Hitchin Creative has created a trail of large paintings produced by members of our local artistic community. “We’re grateful to Town Centre Manager Tom Hardy and his team for coming up with the idea of making creative use of the stands,” says Hitchin Creative Chair Hilary Seabrook. “The 11 artists featured in the trail are all working locally and it’s great to be able to produce this first Winter Art Trail to coincide with the second Hitchin Winter Festival.” Hitchin Creative has taken over the administration of Hitchin Festival and details of Hitchin Winter Festival and the Winter Art Trail map are available online at www.hitchinfestival.co.uk . For more information about Hitchin Creative, ju...

A delightful day in Warwickshire

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On one of the coldest days of the year, we spent a relaxing and interesting day around the middle of the UK in Warwickshire, which prides itself on its connections with William Shakespeare. What I hadn’t realised was the connection with Jane Austen, via her mother’s cousin. Stoneleigh Abbey, a stunning connection with Jane Austen Christmas at Packwood House Baddesley Clinton Three stunning stately homes all gave a fascinating insight into how families have lived in the UK across centuries. The fact that these buildings - with a lot of original contents - are open to the visiting public is thanks to a lot of hard work, much from volunteers.

Laila Biali and ‘Wintersongs’ live

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Singer, pianist and composer Laila Biali was my first guest on Harmonious World in June 2020. Tonight, we met for the first time at Ronnie Scott’s iconic jazz club, where she was joined on stage by the extraordinary sax player Emma Rawicz , whose gig I loved just ten days ago. It’s a great story, how these two unlikely musical talents met, as they’re both recording artists with ACT Music and performed a gig together a few months ago. For Canadian vocalist and pianist Laila, it was an obvious choice to including UK saxist Emma on her date at Ronnie Scott’s.  Also on stage with Laila and Emma was Laila’s husband, Ben Wittman, on drums and the brilliant bass player Max Luthert .  Laila and Emma together entranced the packed audience at Ronnie Scott’s, with originals from Laila’s impressive repertoire, including the recent release of ‘Wintersongs’. Thr pianist’s arrangements of standards such as ‘Autumn Leaves’, ‘Bye Bye Blackbird’ and ‘Pennies From Heaven’ were equally inventive...

Roberto Fonesca in a live conversation

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Welcome to the latest episode of Harmonious World, in which I interview musicians about how their music helps make the world more harmonious. With apologies for the background noise (including the sound-checking of Roberto's piano while we chatted a few feet away) this is the live chat I had with Cuban jazz pianist  Roberto Fonseca . It was a real pleasure to chat with hijm and then to hear him play as part of London Jazz Festival. 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."

'The Slave' by Isaac Bashevis Singer and Michael Shapiro

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One of the joys of last week was spending time in Abbey Road studios, hearing the first notes of Michael Shapiro 's opera 'The Slave', based on the novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer. The aria 'Let Me Live' was recorded by members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the incredible soprano Miah Persson, all conducted by Michael himself. Now it's time to start re-reading the novel.

#UKSnow - it doesn't happen often

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The weather is often challenging in the UK and many people have been suffering because of the arrival of Storm Bert this weekend. All it brought for me was a little snow while I was staying with friends in Yorkshire. It was gone by lunchtime.

Cassie Kinoshi and Seed: Heart world premiere

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In the words of the late, great Quincy Jones: “The only music I don’t like is bad music.” Tonight, the London Symphony Orchestra joined with composer and sax player Cassie Kinoshi in the world premiere of her suite ‘Heart’, alongside Anna Clyne’s ‘This Midnight Hour’ and Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral’ symphony. And it was a classical/jazz combination that worked beautifully - modern and traditional sitting side by side in one of the best venues in London.    Opening your ears to a variety of music is clearly popular, with the main hall almost completely full. An enthusiastic audience clearly made no distinction between the classical and the jazz elements of this considered programming.  Clyne’s ‘This Midnight Hour’ (2015) takes its inspiration from poetry by Baudelaire and Jimenez, with stunning string writing that uses every section of the orchestra from frenetic strings at the start to a bold, brassy ending. The popular ‘Pastoral’ symphony No 6 is well-loved for a reason. Beeth...

Downbeat Poll - podcast guests recognised

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I was delighted to read the 89th Annual Readers Poll for Downbeat magazine, and analysing the results, I was delighted to see so many of my podcast guests recognised for their contribution to jazz. Take a listen to some of these outstanding musicians sharing what they're good at. Nik Bartsch : nominated in Keyboards Laila Biali ( June 2020 , November 2020 , November 2024 ): nominated in Voice Kit Downes : nominated in Organ Bill Laurance : nominated in Group (as part of Snarky Puppy) Christian McBride : winner in Bass player and Producer, nominated in Artist of the Year, Group (with Ursa Major), Large Ensemble (with his Big Band), Electric Bass player, Composer and Arranger Allison Miller : nominated in Drums Arturo O'Farrill : nominated in Large Ensemble (with his Latin Jazz Ensemble) and Arranger Ulysses Owens Jr : nominated in Drums and Large Ensemble (with his Big Band) Maria Schneider : winner in Large Ensemble and Composer, nominated in Hall of Fame Craig Taborn : nomina...

Roberto Fonseca at The Jazz Social for London Jazz Festival

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Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca improvised his heart out to a packed venue at The Jazz Social as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival. It was a stunning display of his classical and jazz virtuosity. Roberto's solo piano appearance was a warm-up for his show with a seven piece band and Luna Cohen at London's Cadogan Hall. What we got at The Jazz Social - one of the coolest venues on offer for the first time in this year's EFG London Jazz Festival - was a virtuosic display of all the classical, jazz and cuban influences that weave through Roberto's style. His new album is out now and this pared-back appearance included hints of that great work - La Gran Diversion . The gorgeous Yamaha piano (he had an electric set-up but forgot to move onto it!) came alive with cinematic and lyrical improvised pieces and Roberto encouraged audience participation with rhythms and vocalising. A wonderful evening. You can listen to my conversation with Roberto here for Harmonious World .

A busy week - including time in Abbey Road Institute

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One of the joys of my podcast is interviewing people who become friends and that is certainly true of composer and conductor Michael Shapiro. This is the third time he has invited me to observe a recording, this time of his collection of Dublin Songs and an aria ‘Let Me Live’ from his opera ‘The Slave’. Soprano Miah Persson joined members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in recording this beautiful music and it was pleasure to be in the control room,

A third interview with vocalist, pianist and composer Laila Biali

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Welcome to the latest episode of Harmonious World , in which I interview musicians about how their music helps make the world more harmonious. For the third time, I enjoyed chatting with pianist, composer and vocalist  Laila Biali , who has just released  Wintersongs . I'm very much looking forward to catching up with Laila when she brings her tour to London next week. Thanks to Laila for letting me play tracks from the album alongside our conversation and I hope you enjoy listening to them. 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." Support the show

Dennis Rollins with Cambridge University Jazz Orchestra

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Eminent trombonist Dennis Rollins was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2018 - and rightly so. This is a man who is passionate about the importance of education. Evidence of that commitment was clear at the West Road Hall, part of the Cambridge University Music Department, as part of the Cambridge Jazz Festival.  Alongside visual artist in residence Gina Southgate, Dennis has been on hand for whole festival as ambassador for the very best in a British jazz. If you’re unfamiliar with Dennis’s name, you almost certainly are familiar with his playing. He’s the trombonist of choice for many local and visiting musicians and he’s been heard with Jamiroqui, Brand New Heavues, Courtney Pine and Monty Alexander.  I was delighted to be able to grab a chat with Dennis during the interval of this show at West Road, which will appear on Harmonious World in the coming weeks, CUJO is an impressive collection of jazz musicians studying at Cambridge and they were well-rehears...

Emma Rawicz at Kings Place for the EFG London Jazz Festival

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One of my top gigs of 2024 - an extraordinary evening with Emma Rawicz (sax), Laura Jurd (trumpet), Conor Chaplin (bass), Jason Rebello (piano) and Anton Eger (drums).  Read my review on The Riff . 

Industry Partner of the International Songwriting Competition

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I’m delighted to have become an industry partner to the International Songwriting Competition .. This is an organisation that is actively promoting the art of songwriting globally - I’ve interviewed Jim Morgan from the ISC. Watch this space!

Pianist Joel Lyssarides joins me in conversation on Harmonious World

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It was a joy to chat with pianist   Joel Lyssarides  for Harmonious World .  His latest album is   Arcs and Rivers , in collaboration with bouzouki player   Georgios Prokopiou : as usual, this is a classy album from ACT Music. You can read my review of   Arcs and Rivers   here . Thanks to Joel for letting me play tracks from the album alongside our conversation and I hope you enjoy listening to them. 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." Support the show

The 2024 EFG London Jazz Festival is live in just four days!

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This Friday sees the start of an impressive schedule for the EFG London Jazz Festival . Tonight was the official opening of a new venue. The Jazz Social will be the place to hang out. Just around the corner from London’s vast Barbican Centre, this will be an intimate stage and bar for catching your breath and possibly some visiting musicians. 

Hitchin Creative: Hitchin Winter Festival launches

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One of my other 'hats' is as Chair of Hitchin Creative. We aim to bring creative people together across the little Hertfordshire town where I live: you'd be surprised how many artists, writers, musicians, comedians, sculptors, designers and photographers live within a few miles of each other! Just launched today is the programme for the Hitchin Winter Festival, which runs from 16 November. It includes a huge number of events through to Christmas, and now everyone can check it out. There's even an advert for harmonious World - I can tick everyone in Hitchin off my Christmas card list!

Chatting with Ashley Slater about 'Merry Jazzmas'

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Welcome to the latest episode of Harmonious World , in which I interview musicians about how their music helps make the world more harmonious. Although I don't usually mention Christmas until December, there are a couple of great albums out that will help us all get into the spirit of the season. My first features an old friend, trombonist, singer and composer  Ashley Slater . His album Merry Jazzmas is out now and you can read my review of it  here . This is the second appearance for Ashley - the first was way back in April 2021 on  episode 42 . Thanks to Ashley for letting me play tracks from the album alongside our conversation and I hope you enjoy listening to them. 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, b...

Chatting live with guests when it's possible

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When I can, my interviews for Harmonious World take place in person. Of course, my guests are making music around the world, so it's often impossible, but today was an exception. I popped into London (half an hour on the train) to chat with harpist, flautist and singer  Catriona Bourne for a future episode of Harmonious World. We had a great chat and it'll be a lovely episode when it comes out in a few weeks' time. One of the issues I am constantly struggling with is the number of musicians I'd like to chat with - there's so much great music being released and performed now and it's hard to keep up. If you hear an album or a performer you think I should either review or interview, please let me know!

Cambridge Jazz Festival launch event featuring Tim Boniface

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The official opening of the Cambridge Jazz Festival was a gorgeous event, with saxist Tim Boniface (who I chatted with earlier in the year for Harmonious World ) entertaining guests at the Lab Cocktail Bar in the heart of the city. The event heralded the festival itself, which is packed full of jazz of all types for the next couple of weeks. I discovered at the event that many of the gigs scheduled for Cambridge Jazz Festival 2024 are already sold out, but do check them out in case you're around.

Peter Somuah: 'Highlife'

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The team at ACT Music continues to bring extraordinary music into the world and I've been listening to the utterly brilliant 'Highlife' from Rotterdam based, Ghanaian trumpeter Peter Somuah. The influences in Somuah's music comes from iconic trumpeters Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard and Roy Hargrove, alongside the music of Ghana - especially the 'highlife' rhythms of the 1960s. However, the overall result is an individual, stylish and infectious album.  Somuah's compositions are inventive and truly toe-tappingly vibrant. His band includes Dutch musicians alongside a Dutch-Surinamese percussionist: Peter Somuah (trumpet, vocals, cowbell),  Jesse Schilderink (tenor sax), Anton de Bruin (keyboard, rhodes, synth), Jens Meijer (drums), Danny Rombout (congas, shekere), Marijn van de Ven (double and electric bass), Lamisi Akuka (vocals), Thomas Botchway (talking drum & shekere), Pat Thomas (vocals),  Gyedu-Blay Ambolley (vocals),...

Ashley Slater: Merry Jazzmas!

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I'm breaking the habit of a lifetime and mentioning the 'C' word in November - only because singer, composer and trombonist Ashley Slater is a good friend and he's produced the album that you need for every gathering you're planning over Christmas. This album has been a closely-guarded secret throughout 2024, with Ashley barely mentioning it more than once a week across social media. Now that's it's finally arrived in your listening ears, you're going to love Merry Jazzmas ! Featuring a bevy of brilliant musicians, every track was crafted by the witty Mr Slater (listen out for "One and one makes true") and the arrangements show them all at their finest. There's Gary Alesbrook (trumpet), Iain Ballamy (sax) Mark Edwards (piano), Mark Fletcher (drummer), Jamie McCredie (guitar) and Mark Preston (guitar). Ashley has always been a self-deprecating and amusing musician and human being. He's worked with some of the big names including Thomas D...

Chatting with drummer Tom Bancroft

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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 epiosde, I was joined by drummer  Tom Bancroft  from  Playtime , whose album  Morse Code Through The Lights  I  reviewed  a couple of weeks ago. It's a brilliant album and I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation. 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."

RIP Quincy Jones

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I only met him once (in September 2014 ), but Quincy Jones was a huge influence. He was interested in language and connections between people, as well as the obvious skill and passion for music. When I was considering starting a podcast, back in those dark days of lockdown in spring 2020, finding a name became easy as soon as I found this quote from Quincy Jones. All I imagined was that musicians would chat with me about what they are good at - Harmonious World in a nutshell. To hear this morning that he had died at the age of 91 was sad, but his contribution to the world will remain forever, and will inspire us all forever. RIP Quincy Jones.

Lacock Abbey - film and TV location and a book cupboard

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I'm an avid reader and this weekend, I discovered the perfect book cupboard, albeit without its wooden doors. Dating back to the 1200s, this is a sign of the value of books and learning that goes back centuries. To construct a wall and leave space for books is a beautiful concept. Too many homes today contain no books and that makes me sad. I'm not entirely sure I would keep the doors: books should be glimpsed in passing as much as they are read in detail.

Jon Batiste: Beethoven Blues

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Jon Batiste's eighth studio album gives the multi-talented pianist the freedom to play around - whimsically, beautifully and apparently effortlessly - with the works of Beethoven. As a solo pianist, Batiste is extraordinary and his musicianship exudes from every track on this new collection. When I started Harmonious World, I wanted a podcast that talked to musicians, regardless of the genre and Batiste has done brilliantly here what so many other artists strive for, which is creating music that defies box-ticking. Beethoven's compositions inspire Batiste's improvisations. For those who don't know Jon Batiste, you almost certainly have heard some of his music - he has the Grammy and multiple other awards to prove it. He even has an Oscar for Best Original Score for Soul  from the Academy Awards in 2021, and a nomination in 2024 for It Never Went Away. Beethoven Blues (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 1), out November 15 on Verve Records / Interscope marks the first instalment...

Gig listing no 11 - November 2024

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Welcome to what promises to be an exceptionally busy November! Jazz festivals aplenty and lots of gigs in the run-up to the festive season. Check out some of these venues and events below, especially those featuring past guests on the Harmonious World podcast: Saturday 9 November: Jazz at St Giles', Oxford 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 8 to Sunday 24 November: Cambridge Jazz Festival Too many artists to list, but Pat Metheny, Brand New Heavies, Dennis Rollins,  Rob Luft  and  Tim Boniface  will be appearing. You really need to take a look.  Click here for tickets & info Thursday 14 November, The Tung Auditorium, Liverpool Sax player, clarinettist and composer Tom Thorp brings his Ilumetris ensemb...