I love it when ‘new’ instruments come to my attention in jazz contexts and completely open my mind. That much is certainly true of ‘Impermanence’, the new album from harmonica player Yotam Ben-Or and his quintet. I’m particularly embarrassed that this is the Israeli-Belgian harmonica player’s third studio album but the first time I’ve heard his playing. It’s not just the unfamiliarity of the harmonica as a lead instrument in jazz - this is a great album that has a genuine global feel. When you learn of Ben-Or’s exposure to music from Europe as well as early sounds in Israel and time spent studying with experts across South and Central America, it all makes sense. He says: "I called it Impermanence because, unlike my previous albums, I strived for acceptance rather than perfection. Instead of controlling everything and reworking it in the studio, I was interested in the flow between us musicians and the songs." Ben-Or has maintained his established quartet for Impermanence , with Gabriel Chakarji (piano), Alon Near (bass) and Alon Benjamini (drums). Their collective work makes me want to revisit the earlier albums that I have missed. Alongside this core are special guests Lars Danielsson (cello), who absolutely and audibly shines on Ballad for Daniel . Similarly, Esther Quansah (voice) on Trying finishes the album beautifully with vocal phrasing that both matches and complements the harmonica. Ben-Or’s writing on all eight original tracks allows all the instruments to feature within the harmonica’s sound world. Listening to Impermanence has reminded me of the great harmonica players and especially the genius of Toots Thielemans. This is harmonica for a new jazz age.

The final day of Love Supreme began not with music, but with a panel discussion chaired by Barney Jones, looking at the day’s news. Panellists were insightful and fascinating - Iain Dale, Ann McElvoy, Catherine Meyer and Anand Menon - with discussion of everything from the future of UK party politics to free speech and incitement, and special mention of the Glastonbury/BBC coverage last weekend. The first musical event of the day was bassist Daniel Casimir with his big band. In these days when this large ensemble format is prohibitively expensive for most composers, it’s truly wonderful to see a collection of musicians like this - most of them, I’d pay good money to see individually. Dan Casimir with his Big Band, including Camilla George (far right) and Binker Golding on MD duties Next up, I caught a little of another bassist - Amy Gadiaga - and just a few minutes of Jazz FM award winning corto alto. Amy Gadiaga The afternoon passed in snatching glimpses of bands and some truly outstanding jazz. The Pete Roth Trio One of my choice shows of the festival was the Pete Roth Trio with Mike Pratt on bass and the legendary drummer Bill Bruford. This is quite a new ensemble but it has come together brilliantly, with a real sense of collaboration between these great British jazzers. I loved the combination of simplicity and complexity as the musical ideas passed between the three players, with rhythmic and melodic themes were carried effortlessly across the stage. Between interviews for a special Harmonious World episode, I caught a little of Branford Marsalis and then finished Love Supreme 2025 with amazing, inventive jazz from the Neil Cowley Trio and then Avishai Cohen with his quartet. I'm hoping to get the former on as a guest to talk about the revamping of his trio. Cohen's stunning set included work from his stunning Ashes to Gold album. This is stunning music, with the trumpeter also moving on to an ethereal, evocative flute. The Neil Cowley Trio Avishai Cohen A fabulous afternoon and early evening with some class, inventive and intuitive acts. Love Supreme 2025 may be finished, but some of these performances will stay with me. The good news about all the artists I missed is that many of their sets will be replayed on Jazz FM. Hear interviews and more on the latest episode of Harmonious World PS - latest news! The organisers have announced today that the 2026 edition, which will take place from Friday July 3rd - Sunday July 5th, will feature three days of Main Stage programming for the first time. Reflecting the festival’s continued growth and ongoing evolution, next year’s event will expand beyond its traditional Saturday and Sunday Main Stage schedule to also include headline performances on the Friday.    Super Early Bird tickets for Love Supreme Jazz Festival 2026 are on sale now from lovesupremefestival.com .

Saturday was grey, with rain on and off, but the music was absolutely on fire. My day began in fine style with Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band on the Supreme Standards stage. I reviewed their gig at Ronnie Scott’s a couple of weeks ago and the second hearing didn’t disappoint. Such life and invention that’s not easy to achieve in such a large ensemble, but Fergus Quill manages it brilliantly. It was good to chat with him after the performance and that forms part of my Love Supreme special episode of Harmonious World . Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band A brief experience of Another Taste on the North Downs stage, before the fabulous bilingual singer songwriter Gaby Moreno was introduced to the South Downs stage by Nigel Williams from Jazz FM. The trouble with Love Supreme is that it’s just impossible to see everyone and I missed Poppy Daniels but caught an excellent recording of Jazz Shapers on Jazz FM with Elliot Moss, chatting with Gary Crosby and Janine Irons. Together, they founded the powerful and effective Tomorrow’s Warriors and have such a fascinating perspective on music education, which is truly inspirational. Janine Irons, Gary Crosby and Elliot Moss The main stage was dominated in the early afternoon by WAR , which I caught briefly before heading back to the South (slightly smaller and indoor) stage to hear Chucho Valde s. His set was (so far) my highlight of 2025: the drum/percussion battles were extraordinary alongside bass and, of course, Valdes’s piano. If you want to hear latin jazz done best, you wouldn’t go far wrong with checking out his catalogue. Chucho Valdes Because Valdes was so captivating, I missed Brian Jackson (erstwhile collaborator with the late, great Gil Scott-Heron), but was then able to watch an entire set by Stanley Clarke . Another jazz giant who, much like Valdez, has a young band who are continuing to carry his musical flame: his slap double bass has to be heard to be believed. Clarke was one of the founders of the jazz fusion movement and he's definitely still got those chops. Stanley Clarke (centre) with Emilio Modeste on soprano sax Clarke’s sax player ( Emilio Modeste ) was another stand-out musician and that led me nicely across to the Supreme Standards stage to catch Lakecia Benjamin . What a player! Her alto sax playing is off the scale and she totally owned the stage. It was a delight then to choose to see Kassa Overall who followed her onto the Supreme Standards stage and there, once more, was Emilio Modeste. Overall brought another impressive set to Love Supreme and it’s hard to choose which of these performances will be my highlight of today. The band he had with him are releasing an album soon, and I’ll definitely be reviewing it. Kassa Overall on drums with his phenomenal band Starting with Fergus Quinn and ending with Kassa Overall proved just how inventive the jazz world is right now. It’s an exciting place to be observing and reviewing. You can hear more about the weekend with some interviews on the latest episode of Harmonious World

The UK’s biggest green field jazz festival happens at Glynde Place, a few miles north of Brighton, close to the south coast. 2025 sees the 12th Love Supreme Jazz Festival and it felt bigger than ever. Friday is typically the quietest day, although there was a real sense of excitement as soon as the stages opened at 5pm. Certainly, by early evening the camp sites were looking full and the food stands were doing a roaring trade in everything from vegan curry (which kept me going!) to venison burgers. And all around, there’s great music playing. Even on the camp site, everyone appeared to have a portable speaker with a variety of sounds emanating and mingling: it was all very friendly and tent erecting seemed to have become a team sport in which anyone can get involved when tent poles don’t seem to match. This music brings good natured souls together and we’re all united in the hunt for dynamic music that is either new, exciting or familiar. Toby Lee Before I’d heard more than a few bars of young and upcoming blues man Toby Lee in the Supreme Standards tent, I bumped into Jazz FM presenter Simon Phillips . A few more minutes and it was time for Jamila Woods on the South Downs stage, followed swiftly by Durand Jones and the Indications . Both of these artists are well-respected and clearly have a huge following, given the size of the appreciative audiences. For many of the audience members, the cost of a weekend ticket is based on seeing one favourite artist and then everyone else is a bonus. Jamila Woods Durand Jones and the Indications Final show (for me) was Mama Terra , back on the Supreme Standards stage. This is proper British (actually Scottish) jazz, with a global perspective. Their line-up is impressive and from the very opening bars their sound filled the tent and the surrounding field. One of the stunning acts currently setting the Acid Jazz scene on fire and then dancing around the flames, Mama Terra is a new outfit that’s only been around for a couple of years, but clearly they’re already finding a following: Friday night was bouncing. Mama Terra You can hear more about the weekend with some interviews on the latest episode of Harmonious World

I have been fortunate in attending many concerts around the UK in the past few years, especially since my Harmonious World podcast has taken off. In January 2024, I travelled the short distance to the beautiful St Albans Cathedral, just a few miles north of London. The occasion was the world premiere of saxophonist Tim Boniface's marvellous and moving suite - Psalter: Themes for Peace . You can read my review here or hear my interview with Tim here but - even better - you can now enjoy the recorded version, which is out now on AudioB records . Composed by Boniface and recorded with the composer on sax together with the original band that I heard for the premiere, Psalter: Themes For Peace is a wonderful jazz suite based on six ancients texts on peace from the Hebrew book of Psalms. Boniface is in a special position to compose and record such a collection, as an ordained priest and chaplain at Girton College, University of Cambridge. As well as being a spectacular sax plater, he is also artistic director of Girton Jazz, a unique programme of public concerts and student workshops at the College. Alongside the sax player himself, the musicians are impressive: James Pearson (piano), Malcolm Creese (bass) and Jon Ormston (drums and percussion). Pearson is Artistic Director of Ronnie Scotts and Musician In Residence at Girton, while Creese has collaborated with jazz legends Kenny Wheeler, Dame Cleo Laine, Stan Tracey and many others. Ormston, meanwhile, is well known for his work with a host of UK jazz musicians including Eliot Galvin, Guy Barker and more. Collectively, this is the perfect band alongside Boniface's sax to perform his compositions. Just as I heard Psalter: Themes for Peace performed live, so the album was recorded live at Girton with no edits or overdubs to create a live ‘in the moment’ feel. This is not a religious work, as such, but is jazz influenced by sacred texts and with a focus on the intentions of peace. For those among you living or visiting London in August, I highly recommend tickets for the performance of Psalter: Themes for Peace at Southwark Cathedral on 9 August. Once more, the Tim Boniface Quartet will be performing the suite under the artwork Peace Doves by Peter Walker. To buy the album visit either  www.timboniface.co.uk/shop or timboniface.bandcamp.com

A truly extraordinary evening of exemplary musicianship from Einaudi and his outstanding musicians. (c) Andrew Paradise @Paradiseph0t0 Einaudi broke records and entranced sell-out audiences with the longest continuous headline run by a pianist in the history of the Royal Albert Hall, with five shows from 29 June to 4 July. Not only did he perform some of his major ensemble works, but he also slotted in a section including his most popular and virtuosic solo pieces. As part of his tour to support his Decca album The Summer Portraits , he also sold-out shows in Dublin, Edinburgh and Manchester. The musicians joining him on stage are breathtaking, with bass, percussion and keyboards on one side and five string players and accordion on the other. The lead violinist not only lead brilliantly but also swapped onto guitar from time to time. At one point I realised what had been bothering me since the start of the show - the lead violin, accordion and lead cello were all playing without music: impressive and also a less cluttered stage, missing music stands. Opening for the shows was Sam Lee. He is a Mercury prize nominated singer and passionate conservationist, with nature at the heart of his music. He sits in a space between folk, traditional and contemporary music and he's even written a novel - 'The Nightingale, notes on a songbird' - which seems to bring it all together. It's on my summer reading list. Sam is not only a ground-breaking and thought-provoking musicians, but also a co-founder of Music Declares Emergency, which aims to bring together musicians and audiences to help bring about behavioural change. Their goal is clear: "We believe in the power of music to promote the cultural change needed to create a better future." As I left the Albert Hall, I bumped into Sam and asked him about his shruti box, an unusual musical instrument that he seems to have made his own. It's similar to a harmonium and produces a drone that accompanies many of Sam's songs. Meanwhile, following this six-night record-breaking residency at the Royal Albert Hall, Einaudi has announced Solo Piano. This series of concerts will expand that solo section of the current tour, where the band leaves the stage for the maestro alone. 2026 promises much from the masterful Italian pianist and composer.

In June 2020, I released the first episode of my podcast -  Harmonious World  - and I had no idea how much delight it would bring me to share conversations with musicians from around the world. Just a few of the guests I met in person Whether you're a guest, a listener or one of the collaborators who have helped me find my guests, thank you! I now have listeners in 2, 475 cities across 129 countries, so wherever you are, welcome to our collective musical attempts to make the world more harmonious. Season 20 guests were: Chris Gall Sultan Stevenson Fotina Naumenko Quinn Sternberg Tara Minton for International Jazz Day Nicole Zuraitis Dave Keech Ute Lemper Vonn Vanier Iain Farrington Cecilie Strange Becca Wilkins Dave Handler

Thank you for coming over to find out more about me. Each of the pages here will tell you more and this section will soon contain all my music reviews - of live and recorded music across a vast variety of genres. The idea behind my reviews is to help you discover new music. There is so much creativity in the music industry and I will help you uncover the really good stuff. When I began writing about music, I thought I would focus on jazz and classical, but I soon discovered that there is a huge amount of crossover and many influences from other genres, so the whole idea of classification has gone out of the window. You can read my regular reviews on here and all my past reviews over on the Blogger archive. From time to time, I will reference those historic reviews and there is always plenty to read there with a great search function.