Grassroots venues continue - often against all odds - to provide a vital stage for musicians around the UK. This week, I discovered Dead Colours at Hitchin’s Club 85. Dead Colours is Martyn Shone (guitar and vocals) and Chris Lines (keyboards). They were one of four bands on the lineup, bringing their original songs and especially a great cover version of Duran Duran’s Planet Earth which took us collectively back to 1981. All around the UK - and around the world - small venues are giving bands and artists a stage to perform in front of audiences. And long may that continue. After several years of uncertainty, Club 85’s future as a not-for-profit organisation, dedicated to bringing the whole community together in a safe space for all is closer to safety. The brilliant team behind the scenes allows people of all ages to enjoy music as they showcase the best local, touring and international talent. The set we enjoyed from Dead Colours was inventive and energetic, combining live and electronic music that had a touch of the 80s with modern originality. There’s always lots of new music to discover at Club 85 - check out grassroots venues near you

The winners of the Downbeat Magazine 74th Critics’ Poll include several Harmonious World guests and subjects of my reviews. As well as these great awards, there were several of my guests featuring as runners-up. One of the significant runners up in the Rising Star categories for Soprano and Tenor saxophonist was Emma Rawicz The notable winners are: Jane Ira Bloom: Soprano saxophonist of the Year Immanuel Wilkins: Alto Saxophonist of the Year Craig Taborn: Keyboardist of the Year Maria Schneider: Large Ensemble and Composer of the Year Gabrielle Cavassa: Rising Star Female Vocalist of the Year Take a look at the list and let me know in the comments who you’d like to find out more about on Harmonious World

A new EP from cellist Matt Haimovitz brings a community together to pay tribute to the people of Minneapolis and Saint Paul during their 2026 ICE occupation. The three pieces on Neighbors are performed by colleagues and students from the University of Minnesota, bring themes of community, remembrance and the power of collective voice. Composer Luna Pearl Woolf (who I interviewed in January 2021) reimagined Ernest Bloch’s Prayer for violin, cello and choir. Haimovitz says: “The violin line joins the cello in solidarity, the choir replaces the wordless piano, transforming the accompaniment into the harmonious incantation of a congregation.” The resulting first track on this EP is renamed Neighbors: A Prayer, using words from librettist David Van Taylor, based on the words of Minneapolis activists. Julius Klengel’s Hymnus (1920) is an evocative, wordless piece for twelve cellos, performed by Haimovitz and his students. I am Spirit follows, composed by former Minnesotan David C Dickau, bringing together violin, cello, soprano and choir. The individual’s spirit “awakens” with “the ferocity of your dignity” and seems to speak to the power of collectively overcoming darkness. I interviewed Matt Haimovitz for Harmonious World in August 2022 about his wonderful cello works and it’s a pleasure to have heard Neighbors now. ‘Neighbors’ is available online from Pentatone Music

Anthony Strong is set to release the sumptuous ‘And Then We Kiss …’, with his long-standing quartet and a full string orchestra. Strong’s new album combines his versions of the Great American Songbook (think Some Enchanted Evening and Love For Sale) with a touch of pop in the shape of a bossa If You Leave Me Now. The latter features a delightful duet with Pamina Beroff. One of the strengths (pardon the pun) of this album is the fabulous string arrangements by the uber-talented Callum Au. It turns these tunes into a Sinatra-esque collection that enhances Strong’s voice. Strong (voice, piano, arranger) is joined on And Then We Kiss … by Nick Fitch (guitar), Joel Barford (drums), Spencer Brown (bass), Brandon Allen (tenor sax) and Pamina Beroff (guest vocals). Strings are a wonderful addition, as orchestrated by Au and led by violinist Tom Kemp. One particularly stunning arrangement is the whimsical It’s Not Unusual, which begins with the quartet, Strong’s voice and Allen’s always-lyrical sax. Anthony Strong has done a great job on these arrangements, combining them with Au’s string orchestrations, great jazz and some of the most romantic songs there are. I’m looking forward to seeing what he brings with his trio to the Cowshed Jazz Club on 25 September. ‘And Then We Kiss…’ is out on Guaranteed! Records from 31 July 2026

Produced by Nicole Zuraitis and the legendary Larry Klein, the singer’s latest album ‘The Devil I Knew’ is gorgeous, romantic and wonderfully profound. Nicole is a fabulous pianist, vocalist and performer, as I discovered in July 2024 when Nigel Williams introduced her on stage at The Pheasantry in London. Ever since, I have been a little obsessed with the singer’s journey and this latest, hugely personal album is a wonderful example of her voice, her songwriting and her production skills. Zuraitis writes, arranges, sings and plays piano and a touch of Rhodes on The Devil I Knew. Alongside her are an array of talented musicians who dip in wherever appropriate. A constant is Dan Pugach (drums), with contributions across the album from: Donny McCaslin (sax), Jon Cowherd (organ), Larry Klein (bass and Wurlitzer), Christian McBride (bass), Sam Weber (bass), Larry Goldings (organ), Idan Morim (guitar), Gilad Hekselman (guitar), Scott Sherrard (guitar), Dean Parks (guitar) and David Cook (piano). Each one makes a specific contribution to this ensemble album. The fabulous horn arrangements were by Jerry Hey, performed by: Rashawn Ross (trumpet), Lori Stuntz (trombone), Larry Williams (tenor sax), Brandon Fields (baritone sax). When Zuraitis’s voice needs some backing, there’s subtle contributions from Sirintip and Vivienne Aerts. A deeply spiritual and personal collection of tunes, there’s healing bowls from Andromeda Turre and poetry spoken by: Susan Bloomberg, Johanna Telander, Jeanette Zuraitis, Jessica DeShong, Christina Giocona, Priya Darshini, Janet Robin, Angela Benson, Meka Nism and Dee Lee Dubé. As soon as the opening McBride bass line of Won’t Make it Out Alive and later on He’s a Demon, He’s a Devil, He’s a Dog bursts into your ears and your chest, you know this is going to be a groove that sticks with you. And the fabulous Larry Goldings organ seems the perfect foil to Zuraitis’s voice on the former track. Each musician selected to perform on different tracks is specific, such as on Two Steps Back (The Overlap) featuring the evocative sax of Donny McCaslin. Turning to a standard like the Hoagy Carmichael classic I Get Along Without You Very Well, is a nice touch, but Zuraitis knows how to write and sing about love, as evidenced on the soulful ballad Call My Name (I Dare You) and also on the deeply moving Wish I Could Love You. Across the whole album, there’s a sense of the writer’s connection to her own and our emotional life - all delivered perfectly by the vocalist. ‘The Devil I Knew’ from Nicole Zuraitis is out now on La Reserve Records

From its deep opening sonorous chords, ‘Identity’ from Poland’s Confusion Project reaches into your soul. There is something totally captivating about the rhythmic title track that introduces this new album. The concept of identity seems to involve the individual musicians, the ensemble collectively and the listener. Confusion Project’s music is composed by Michał Ciesielski (piano), all performed by Piotr Gierszewski (bass guitar) and Adam Golicki (drums). The jazz trio format moves between jazz and fusion, with clear influences from Polish folk and classical music, expertly creating a sound that edges towards prog rock and jazz fusion. At the heart of Identity are five Mazurkas - composed and performed with a 21st century groove and jazz edge. The Mazurka form is fundamental to Polish folk music, popularised in the 19th century by composers like Chopin, who adapted the dance form to their own style - an idea perpetuated in these jazz versions by Confusion Project. Later in the album, we have the delightfully-complex Simplicity, with a rhythmic groove established first by the piano before the trio runs loose with it. Ending Identity is the expansive What Now? which plays with the listener - a sudden ending that leaves the question of the title open. In 2020, Confusion Project started an environmental initiative called #1CD1tree, driven by contributions from album purchases, and have since planted over 2000 trees on several continents in places devastated by human actions. Identity is a jazz trio album of our time, with hints and nods to music of the past and questions about what the future holds. Confusion Project has released ‘Identity’ via Dot Time Records

Michael Arbenz has once more addressed Bach as jazz inspiration: this time with his brother Florian and Atom String Quartet. Bach’s iconic Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major has been completely reimagined - nearly 200 years since it was composed. If Bach had added piano and percussion to a string quartet and allowed for improvisation, it might have sounded something like this album. Arbenz has combined clear, precise writing for all the instruments and then included passages for improvisation that allows the players to take his writing and expand on it with their own personal perspective. The entire ensemble is Michael Arbenz (piano), Florian Arbenz (drums) and the Atom String Quartet - Dawid Lubowicz (violin), Mateusz Smoczynski (violin), Michal Zaborski (viola) and Krysztof Lenczowski (cello). It seems like Bach is repeatedly a great springboard for improvisers. In August 2025, I reviewed Michael Arbenz’s live From Bach to Ellington album with Andy Sheppard. I spoke to Joachim Horley in January 2026 about his Afro Bach project. The Neil Cowley Trio released Built on Bach in April 2026 and I also reviewed their live performance a couple of weeks later. Joining with his brother and Atom String Quartet, Michael Arbenz has brought Bach to life in the 21st century through the lens of improvisation and musical collaboration. Michael Arbenz feat. Atom String Quartet & Florian Arbenz’s ‘J.S. Bach Suite III - A Living Organism’ is available on Bandcamp

Celebrations of the 250th anniversary of America have not gone entirely to plan, but enjoy storytelling, today’s issues and ideas with Apollo Chamber Players and ‘We The People’. This latest album from Apollo Chamber Players is a stunning collection of music that reflects both the stories and the future of America as it celebrates 250 years since its birth. The opening track: And Still We Cross brings an idea of those who travelled from around the world and ‘discovered’ America, bringing the idea that we all walk in their footsteps. I’ve interviewed Apollo founder and violinist Matthew J. Detrick, in November 2021, January 2023 and September 2025. Of this latest release, he says: “This album reflects the dimensions of American democracy. Its ideals, its contradictions, its immigrant stories, its struggles for equality, its cultural plurality, its future, and its collective imagination.” There is so much to uncover - both musically and in the story-telling - in this album and I highly recommend getting your headphones on and indulging in the variety of sounds around the string quartet. The use of voices (solos, small groups, choirs and narration) is particularly engaging and there are also additional solos on strings and electric guitar The closing track is particularly moving: Howard Hansen and Mark Buller’s Song of Democracy is based on the poetry of Walt Whitman, featuring the Apollo Chamber Players string quartet and the Kinder HSPVA Chorale, with additional viola from Tonya Burton. Once again, Apollo Chamber Players are making music for us all to enjoy and to provoke thought. ‘We the People’ from Apollo Chamber Players is available as a digital release on Azica Records

Written in 1895, ‘The importance of Being Earnest’ from OVO was set in the 1920s and was brought right up to date with specially-selected contemporary music. The cast on stage for OVO’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ © Elliott Franks Each of the main characters in The Importance of Being Earnest staged by OVO at the wonderful Roman Theatre in St Albans was introduced by a live band performing nicely-chosen music including Uptown Funk and Where is My Husband? A particularly apt choice was at the start of the second half when the ‘workers’ of the play performed a wry version of the Daft Punk song Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger. I think Wilde would have approved. However, the scene-stealing performances of Lady Bracknell (portrayed with absolutel confidence and control by Anna MacLeod Franklin) were pivotal. After all, it is Aunt Augusta (truly the ‘Aunt’ of both Algernon/Ernest and Ernest/Jack) who is the link between the “hand bag” and two weddings. The entire cast was brilliant but the whole stage came to life when they were all together. Great work, by the way, on the scene where everybody hunts through the books for Algie’s father’s name. The staging of this production was simply beautiful, with perfectly-selected colours and shapes. A fairly rapid set change from town to country (vital to many of the sub-plots and lines in the play) was handled by the cast themselves. The band (including Prism on sax and Chasuble on bass) is very much part of the production and their tour de force came when launching into Lizzo’s Juice for our introduction to Aunt Augusta - unkindly described earlier by Jack as “a monster without being a myth”. The Roman Theatre at Verulamium is the perfect setting for a summer production of The Importance of Being Earnest (as it was last month for Mark O’Sullivan’s new adaptation of Sherlock Holmes and will be in August for As You Like It). Director Adam Nichols said: "The Importance of Being Earnest is a showcase of what OVO does best: reimagining classic plays in a bold new colour. Glittering, sharp, and beautifully mischievous, it's the summer party you won't want to miss.” ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ is playing at the Roman Theatre of Verulamium until Saturday 18 July 2026: tickets are available at ovo.org.uk

Composer and bassist Ilaria Capalbo brings a new freedom with ‘The Brightest Sun’. Each track on The Brightest Sun seems to take us in different directions all at once. Opening with Arrival, we hear for the first time the freedom in composition and improvisation in Capalbo’s bass and electronics alongside Thomas Backman (alto sax, clarinets), Fredrik Nordström (tenor sax). Andreas Hourdakis (guitar) and Henrik Jäderberg (drums). The sonorous bass clarinet opening to Prophecy expands with the addition of sax and the whole quintet as Capalbo’s bass sings out. We come next to the beautiful Cosmos Earth and a lovely sax/bass duet introduction to Two Visions. The delightful Little Tiger once more brings us bass clarinet, which seems to sit perfectly alongside the leader’s bass: as we hear once more in the intro section of Ode. If Capalbo was looking for her ‘sound’ on The Brightest Sun, then that duet does it for me. Once we reach the title track at the end of this lovely album, we seem to have truly found the wonder of the sun. Capalbo wrote The Brightest Sun during pregnancy and the first years of motherhood. She says: “This album grew out of a time where everything felt immediate and transformed. I composed in fragments - through voice memos, sketches, and notes written whenever there was time. I wanted to preserve that rawness and vulnerability, without polishing away the emotion. Looking back, I remember that period as both fractured and full of wonder, and I wanted the music to reflect exactly that.” ‘The Brightest Sun’ is available via Bluenord Records

Sunday didn’t go entirely to plan, but I still caught several great artists. The brilliant David Kayode was a Sunday favourite Sunday at Love Supreme 2026 ended with me accompanying a friend to the local hospital for several hours, but it was a disappointing end to a brilliant weekend of jazz. The day began with Judith Owen and her Gentlemen Callers who put on a bright and varied set of original tunes and standards, including an uber-cool version of Robert Palmer’s Addicted to Love. Tony Momrelle and Natalie Williams A similarly varied set from Tony Momrelle and Natalie Williams with the Soul Family was made up of their successful tribute to Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack. This collection of tunes was recorded recently at Ronnie Scott’s and you can get the album here. I reviewed the band when I saw them at Ronnie Scott’s in May 2024. Through the day, I also caught Olivia Vitalis, George Bloomfield and The Bad Plus. Standout sets for me were from DK Harrell - who confessed to not feeling well but sang and played a storm - as well as the brilliant Young Gun Silver Fox, Carrtoons and the brilliant David Kayode. I can highly recommend getting to see any of those artists if they’re coming to a venue near you. No photo can do justice to the sound of Samara Joy and her band Before the accident that stopped my Love Supreme weekend in its tracks, I caught the exceptional Samara Joy, with a small band that sounded like a big band. The four horns and rhythm section worked perfectly alongside one of my favourite singers, with some amazing arrangements of her own tunes and standards including Ellington’s I Got it Bad and That Ain’t Good and Joy’s own lyrics to Billy Strayhorn’s U.M.M.G. (Upper Manhattan Medical Group). It may have ended abruptly, but Love Supreme was outstanding once more. Don’t miss out next year - get your tickets now for Love Supreme 2-4 July 2027

Today’s Love Supreme 2026 artist list brought real value on the ticket price. Saturday started with a NYJO nonet performing a Miles Davis 100 set. I then caught Aron!, a singer with an old school voice and delivery, followed by the Joe Webb Trio. Such great talent from all so early in the day. One of my recent guests from Harmonious World - Eliane Correa in April 2026 - performed an electric Latin set with her band, including Allexa Nava, who I am DEFINITELY getting on the podcast to talk about her music. Eliane was also joined by singer Plum for two songs, which took us more punk than Latin, but in a VERY good way. Two of my favourite musicians - Courtney Pine and Bill Frisell - did full sets with their bands and they were both worth the cost of the weekend ticket alone. Courtney Pine brought his quartet to Love Supreme and it really was the best performance from this saxophone legend. He was joined by Robert Mitchell (piano), Rio Kai (bass) and the simply extraordinary Romana Campbell (drums). Each tune features improvised sections, many of which were duets between that player and Pine himself. He always engages brilliantly with the audience and said: “I love playing jazz. I love playing sax. We’re all about positive vibes - the United Kingdom has the word ‘united’ in the title and that’s what we’re here for.” The other winning Saturday set for me was Bill Frisell. The first thing he did was to introduce his amazing band to the audience - Greg Tardy (sax, clarinet), Thomas Morgan (bass) and Rudy Royston (drums). The set that followed was just beautiful. Both Frisell and Pine use their quartets equally as ensembles and individuals and the result is outstanding jazz. Through the day I also caught sets from Lamar and Jalen Ngonda - both extraordinary singers who filled the arena, as well as Esperanza Spaulding. A great way to spend a sunny Saturday. It’s not too late to come down for Sunday at Love Supreme