Search this site

There’s an eclectic hue to ‘Elegant Calamity’, the new big band album from New Zealand saxophonist Oscar Lavën . Big bands around the world are increasingly exploring the extent of the rich colours in such a large ensemble - even as it becomes increasingly financially difficult to form and tour them. Lavën has produced a bespoke ensemble that takes its inspiration from the classic big bands of Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie and Charles Mingus and adds a touch of the cinematic. The opening track - Trong Park  - is energetic and vibrant, with south American rhythms and enthusiastic vocals breaking through the fine composition and arrangement. Lavën’s compositions were made possible through trumpeter Michael Costeloe’s groundbreaking Jazz Orchestra Composer Series, which offers musicians both freedom to create imaginatively and a platform to perform. Far from a typical collection of instruments, Lavën’s tenor sax melds beautifully into the woodwinds of Bridget Kelly (clarinet), Calvin Scott (oboe), Daniel Yeabsley (alto and bass saxes) and Patrick Hayes (bass clarinet). Brass comes from Michael Taylor (trumpet), Michael Costeloe (trumpet) and Kaito Walley (trombone), with strings of Tristan Carter (violin), Ana Henderson (violin) and Nicholas Denton-Protsack (cello). At the heart of all the arrangements are a solid and captivating rhythm section of John Rae (drums), Rafael Ferrer Noel (percussion), Mikey Trujillo (percussion), Ayrton Foote (piano) and Patrick Bleakley (double bass). The entire album is effortless but virtuosic. Particular mention goes to the trumpets on Dizzy Campaign  and Lavën’s sax solos which define this as his album, as much as the brilliant writing and arranging. Lavën says: “I wrote Elegant Calamity in pursuit of a sound that allows the personalities of the eclectic mix of musicians to shine through. These players represent different corners of the vibrant New Zealand art music scene and I hope listeners around the globe will be able to appreciate this through this album.”

For more than a decade, Bill Sample and Darlene Cooper have been producing duo jazz with a touch of funk, soul and pop. Their ensemble Wild Blue Herons ’  latest album proves that ‘It’s All About Love’. Released on Valentine’s Day 2026, this is an existential album, no more so than on Whatcha Gonna Do With Your Life  and the title track, which both feature a rich groove combined with deep, meaningful lyrics that will get you thinking about life, love and everything in between. Sample brings classy experience on keyboard and composition, with name-dropping rights to his work with David Foster, Celine Dion, Ray Charles and Kenny Loggins. Wild Blue Herons brings the music of his long-established partnership with Cooper, a respected jazz/soul/gospel singer, arranger and educator (Eric Bibb, Dee Daniels, Marcus Mosely). For It’s All About Love , the pair have gathered a collection of brilliant musicians to bring their compositions to life: Tim Porter (guitar); Miles Foxx Hill (bass); Randall Stoll (drums). The horn section suffuses the album with Steve Hiliam (tenor sax) and Jim Hopson (trombone), with improvisations that add texture to the arrangements. Tom Keenlyside’s flute on Easy as Pie  adds a musical balance to the horn lines below the vocals in a song that ought to be part of the jazz standards repertoire. As well as Cooper’s strong and expressive lead vocals, there are additional vocals from Sample, Jane Mortifee and Dawn Pemberton, who also takes the lead on Whatcha Gonna Do With Your Life . The only actual standard on this track is a gorgeous arrangement of Jimmie Davis’s You Are My Sunshine . A delightful end to It’s All About Love  comes with Cooper’s solo composition Honey B , a fun track with joyful contributions on keys from (presumably) the subject of the lyrics - Sample himself. This album really is all about love.

La Linea, London’s biggest and longest running Latin music festival returns from 20 April to 6 May with a 90% female line up. What we all need, while we’re in the depths of winter, is some Latin sunshine that is promised - at least musically - in the spring from the 26th La Linea festival. Across a host of different venues, artists from across Latin America, the UK and Europe will bring Latin sound and culture to London. Those scheduled to appear include a 90% female lineup, including: Silvana Estrada; Sara Correia; Zé Ibarra; Caifanes; Eliane Correa presents Las Salseras – A Tribute to Celia Cruz;  Lia Kali; Renata Flores; La Yegros; Desta French presents Latinas of London;  Queralt Lahoz + Maria Arnal. Kicking off La Linea at the Barbican on 20   April, Portuguese sensation Sara Correia – a Latin Grammy nominee and one of Fado’s brightest rising stars – begins a new chapter in 2026, bringing a new album and new show. Following her sold-out London debut last year at Hootananny Brixton, Spanish singer-songwriter Lia Kali performs at Village Underground on 23   April. One of the highlights for me comes to the Jazz Cafe on 25 April. Featuring an all-female salsa band of musicians from across Latin America and the UK, Eliane Correa presents Las Salseras – A Tribute to Celia Cruz, a one-night-only homage marking the centenary of the legendary Cuban singer. Latinas of London, led by Desta French, will celebrate London’s vibrant Latina community at the Jazz Cafe on Saturday 2   May. Brazilian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Zé Ibarra, best known as the lead vocalist of Latin Grammy-winning group Bala Desejo, makes his UK debut at the Jazz Cafe on 6 May, closing La Linea 2026. Elena Beltrami, Director of promoters Como No and La Linea Festival, says: “La Linea has always been about connection - between continents, generations and sounds - and this year’s line-up captures that spirit more than ever. We’re proud to showcase the extraordinary creativity of women who are shaping Latin music today while celebrating the London-based artists who are reimagining it for the future.”   Buy your tickets now at www.lalineafestival.com

The Jazzahead! Festival and world-renowned music industry trade fair has announced its impressive lineup, with 38 concerts across the town of Bremen, north Germany, from 23 to 25 April. To appear, artists must apply to the Jazzahead! organisers and an international jury and in 2026 there is a specific focus on artists from this year’s host country, Sweden. There will also be artists from across Europe, as well as Senegal, South Africa and Togo, Brazil, Canada, the USA and Israel. There are plenty of acts that I’ve encountered before, but lots to discover and I’m looking forward to being a part of this year’s events. The showcase festival will open on Thursday, 23 April at 2 p.m. with a 30-minute concert by the Joel Lyssarides Trio from Sweden It was good to chat with Joel during 2024 for Harmonious World . I’m delighted that trumpeter Laura Jurd is also scheduled to appear. Her mature sound as an instrumentalist is matched by her approach to production, as we heard on the new album from Fergus McCreadie - The Shieling . Another must for me is the jazzahead! focus ‘Jazz from Africa’, presenting one band from the continent every day from Thursday to Saturday. It’s going to be a busy few days and I’m looking forward to interviewing and reviewing some of these amazing acts.

The final night of Cambridge Jazz Festival 2025  was also the final date of a 17-date tour for pianist Fergus McCreadie  and his trio. The rather marvellous chapel at Churchill College, Cambridge My first experience of McCreadie’s music was during the Covid-19 pandemic, when I reviewed his album Cairn  in early 2021. There was something undefinably Scottish about that album and the same is certainly true of the 2025 release The Shieling . Hearing him perform tracks from the album live with his trio at Cambridge was a special moment for me. Recording The Shieling  was a new process for the trio, where they took McCreadie’s compositions into a remote cottage studio on North Uist in the Scottish Outer Hebrides. Joined by David Bowden (bass) and Stephen Henderson (drums), with production by the genius composer and trumpeter Laura Jurd, McCreadie produced something of supreme beauty that translated well to the chapel at Churchill College. Throughout the evening, McCreadie, Bowden and Henderson brought a little of the Scottish landscape and climate to a capacity audience (on our own southerly windy and rainy night in November). The selection of tunes gave a taster of The Shieling  and there was a respectable queue for audience members bagging their own CDs and vinyl albums afterwards. Beginning the night, McCreadie considerately chose my favourite of his tracks: Wayfinder . The tunes progressed one following the other, with a gentle drum solo leading into Sparrow Song  before a bass introduction to The Ridge  and then Wind Shelter  McCreadie took a pause to introduce the musicians and the album, before explaining the last few tracks, the writing and recording process. For those of us unfamiliar with the 282 Munros (Scottish mountains over 3000 feet) and the challenge to collect - or ‘bag’ - all of them, McCreadie explained how climbing them has become a creative activity in which he can find inspiration for his composition. Once the trio, with sound engineer, piano and producer, arrived in the cottage and began the arranging and recording of McCreadie’s ideas, the cottage itself added even more inspiration. You can read his account of the process on his website . Each tune was both evocative of the Scottish landscape and a demonstration of the musicians’ skill. The three instruments were used to their full potential - from every note of the piano, to bowing, plucked bass and the rims and sides of the drum kit. Alongside Henderson, sat a small shruti box on a table, used to great effect - hear more of it when you listen to the whole of The Shieling . You can see what I thought when I reviewed   Cairn  in February 2021, and this gig ended the Cambridge Jazz Festival to perfection.

A stunning and intensely moving story, written by one brilliant writer about another brilliant writer, is coming to the cinema with a soundtrack by one of my favourite modern composers. And now the soundtrack for ‘Hamnet’ by Max Richter is coming out on Decca Records. Richter’s music has accompanied some great storytelling including Bridgerton , Peaky Blinders  and the often terrifying Black Mirror . The soundtrack for the movie of Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet  is similarly evocative and perfect for the action on screen. The story behind Hamnet  is tragic, but it inspired William Shakespeare’s epic Hamlet  and now the film (released already in the US and in a few days in the UK and Australia) promises much both visually and aurally. Starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, directed by Chloé Zhao, we’re expecting another award-winning work. The music is scintillating and stands alone as a collection that begins with Of Agnes , a brief theme that sets the tone and Richter explains: “In composing the score, I used the basic elements of Elizabethan music—period instrumentation, grammar, and sensibility—but applied them in ways that emerge directly from the story’s psychology. Having read the script before shooting, I sketched ideas reflecting themes of familial love and loss, our place in the natural world, and Agnes’ inner journey. Chloe incorporated some of these during filming, and they also informed the edit, providing a foundation for the musical architecture. “Agnes is the film’s fulcrum, and I developed a choral language for her that underpins much of the story. The women’s voices are used in ways an Elizabethan composer would recognize, as well as purely for psychological and emotional colour. It was a joy to work on this remarkable film with such an extraordinary creative team.” One of the most beautiful tunes is Of Remembrance , a simple piano theme that seems to cut right into the listener’s heart before the strings enter and help the tension rise. For anyone who has ever lost someone close, the soundtrack promises much from the film and I’m looking forward to seeing it next week. PS - I've now watched the film (which is extraordinary) and am delighted at the Golden Globes win for Jessie Buckley as Agnes.

I rarely review rock albums, but every once in a while the music demands my attention, and such is the case with Joshua Josue’s ‘Broadcast to the Surf Ballroom’. Fellow jazz buff, Matt Fripp wrote an article  in 2024, exploring the importance of 1959 for JazzFuel. But 1959 was an equally important year for rock and pop music, with artists like Paul Anka, Elvis Presley and Bobby Darin producing some of their finest hits, with classics from Chuck Berry and Ray Charles. Above all else, 1959 is remembered for the deaths of Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens in February. What Portland, Oregon guitarist Joshua Josué has done is take what music was left after Holly and Valens performed for the last time on 2 February 1959 before stepping aboard that fateful plane. Broadcast to the Surf Ballroom  takes the musical snippets left behind by two young men with inordinate talent who had such an influence on thousands of musicians and Josué himself. The Surf Ballroom referred to was the location of that final appearance in Clear Lake, Iowa. Listening to Broadcast to the Surf Ballroom  takes us back to that seminal year in America, when music seemed to come to life. Josué takes demos recorded in Buddy Holly’s Greenwich Village apartment and during Ritchie Valens’ last recordings with Bob Keane. The new versions add a flavour of the technological developments that have taken music to new levels in those 65+ years. One of the most covered songs in rock and roll is La Bamba , a Mexican folk song made famous in 1958 by the young Ritchie Valens. Josué’s version makes it his own while still using the vibrancy and energy of the pre-1960s. Meanwhile, the Paddi Wack  song comes to us with a sense of humour and fun that contrasts brilliantly with the melancholic Now That You’re Gone . The whole album seems to take those demos and brings them up to date in what is far more than a tribute album. Josué says: “With this album, I’ve returned to Buddy Holly’s intimate apartment tapes and Ritchie Valens’ final demo recordings, imagining what these songs might have become had their lives not been cut short. This project is not a venture into 1950s nostalgia, but a heartfelt homage to the songwriters who shaped my musical journey. Each track is completed with the sensitivity and clarity of modern recording techniques, while staying true to the spirit and forward momentum that Buddy and Ritchie might have brought to these songs had they lived.”

I never quite know what to expect when I see a new release from Prophone Records, the independent jazz label, but it’s always high quality music with a Swedish twist, and that is certainly true of ‘Ember’, the fourth album from Ellas Kapell . I can’t remember the last time I heard a new recording of Bill Evans’s Very Early , but it was worth the wait for this version that kicks off Ember . Vocals and ensemble playing are equally delightful, with Carol Hall’s lyrics brought to life by Lovisa Jennervall and a beautiful piano solo from Manne Skafvenstedt. Ember  was self-produced  - recording, production and mixing - and it feels as if Ellas Kapell has collectively discovered their sound in these versions of often memorable jazz standards with their own creative interpretations of such songs as I Didn’t Know What Time it Was  and All the Things You Are . Formed a decade ago, Ellas Kapell is Lovisa Jennervall (voice), Manne Skafvenstedt (piano, synths), August Eriksson (double and electric bass), and Edvin Glänte (drums, percussion). The final track on Ember  speaks volume of the benefits of this ownership of the quartet’s sound: I Fall In Love Too Easily  takes the Jule Styne/Sammy Cahn classic and blends acoustic and electronic sounds in a genuinely wonderful rendition. This is a collection of tunes performed brilliantly with a Scandinavian jazz touch that is perfect to warm the cold winter evenings, wherever you are in the world. Ember is released on Prophone Records and distributed by Naxos on 27 February 2026.

Out on 16 January is a lovely, romantic vocal and jazz ensemble album from Steve Berndt . ‘Heart of Hearts’ takes three pop standards and eight original compositions and gives them a real jazz feel with a variety of ensembles. The tunes on Heart of Hearts  are inspired by the themes of love and honesty, all sung by Berndt and swung by an impressive collection of musicians. Alongside Steve Berndt (vocals, trombone), are Steve Boudreau (piano), Ken Kanwisher (bass), Michel Delage (drums), Ed Lister (trumpet) and Brian Asselin (tenor sax), with guest appearances from Miguel De Armas (piano), Petr Cancura (sax), Michel Brindis Maduro (percussion), Alex Moxon (guitar) and Don Cummings (organ). There is a smoothness to composition, performance and production across Heart of Hearts : never more so than on the title track, where vocals and jazz solos balance with some gorgeous ensemble work, especially from horns and piano. There’s a particularly sumptuous guitar solo on Plus Size Love  that brings the song to life together with Berndt’s vocals. As well as Berndt’s own compositions, jazz versions of tracks like Todd Lundgren’s I Saw The Light  and Peter Frampton’s Baby I Love Your Way  bring a new flavour to Berndt’s voice and the small ensemble, This album comes into its own on the large ensemble Blue Skies On Mars,  Berndt’s title track for a new crime drama film  coming soon. The song won Best Original Song at the International Independent Film Awards in Los Angeles. Heart of Hearts  will be released worldwide on 16 January 2026.

With dates already in the calendar to support the release of ‘Gratitude’, Søren Bebe  and his trio are in store for a promising 2026. Their sense of joy in creating music resonates sincerely through every track on this, their ninth studio album. Out in just a couple of weeks at the end of January, Gratitude  marks nearly 20 years of the trio which racked up more than 5.5 million streams of their previous album Here Now  on Spotify alone, the group’s music continues to resonate deeply with listeners from their Nordic homeland across the world. The seven Bebe original tunes are accompanied by a captivating version of Billy Joel’s And So It Goes  that begins with solo piano and adds just a touch of bass and drums to retain the emotional depth of Joel’s fine composition. Similarly, the absolutely sumptuous Throw It Away  from Abbey Lincoln takes your ears and pumps emotion right into your soul. the latter is a beautiful tune, even without the vocals, lyrics and the accordion that make the original seem so Parisian. The Nordic touch that Bebe and his trio brings adds a dark stillness. Throughout the album, Bebe’s piano sits beautifully alongside his established trio of Kasper Tagel (bass) and Knut Finsrud (drums) to bring us a collection of Nordic tracks that seems to only be possible from the heart of Scandinavian landscape, culture and people. The title track in particular evokes a peace and tranquillity from the whimsical opening through the exposition and development of a theme that seems to bring us gratefully home. Bebe says of Gratitude:  “It’s an album for our fans. We’re grateful to have people who connect with our music, write to us, and share how it’s touched their lives.”

It is always a delight when musicians invite me to watch a recording session and back in November 2024 I spent a day in Abbey Road with Miah Persson and the marvellous composer Michael Shapiro . The resulting recording is simply stunning. Michael Shapiro has appeared three times on Harmonious World - in 2020 , 2021  and 2024 . He is an incredible composer and I travelled to Milan in October 2021 to see him conduct his score to accompany the film of Frankenstein . That was a complete joy! It was only when Michael invited me to Abbey Road to hear the marvellous Miah Persson  record some of his songs with members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra that I recalled where I had heard her before. Miah was outstanding as a soloist when Michael and I sat in the Royal Albert Hall in April 2024 to hear the RPO perform Verdi’s Requiem . For this recording session in November 2024, Michael conducted the RPO while Miah sang his songs and it was breathtaking. The ensuing album includes Shapiro’s Dublin Songs  and Let Me Live.  The latter aria is taken from Michael’s full length opera with Hannah McDermott The Slave  adapted from the novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer. Beginning with A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man , this album is a fine example of contemporary classical music, particularly using the texts by James Joyce. With the voice of Miah Persson, this selection is a fabulous rendition of several of the poems written by one of the finest writers of the 20th century. Shapiro’s orchestral writing is detailed and nuanced, with particularly effective use of wind and strings: I’ve always liked his use of clarinet, bassoon and french horns. Hearing these pieces recorded in the studio and now in their finished versions is very special. One of my favourite tracks starts with the trumpet melody being picked up by the solo voice above the strings on Sleep Now . It really is wonderful when Miah exercises her operatic voice that is so fine and pure. But, for me, the crowning glory both in composition and voice, is the heart-rending Let Me Live . When Michael mentioned that he was writing an opera based on Singer’s The Slave , I read the novel and if you don’t know the story, I urge you to read it, but Sarah’s song will tell you much of the tragedy. With Michael’s composition and Miah’s voice, a mother’s tragic plea is brought to life: wherever The Slave  is performed, I want to be there.

If you’re not sure that you like ‘modern’ classical music, here’s my recommendation for a great starting point. Vanessa Wagner’ s full recording of Philip Glass’s The Complete Piano Etudes . If you’ve ever watched a film and thought the music beautiful, the composer almost certainly knows these pieces. And Wagner’s performances are exemplary. She’s a stalwart of the French music scene and now her attention has turned firmly towards one of the finest composers of our time. She says: “After more than three decades dedicated to interpreting the classical canon, discovering Philip Glass’s music has, in a  profound sense, reshaped my identity as a musician.” The twenty piano etudes of Philip Glass were originally composed in the early 1990s as sketches intended for the Brazilian dance company Grupo Corpo, but they work perfectly in the composer’s adaptation for solo piano. Each one has its own quality and they made me want to sit at the piano with more dedication, while accepting that I’ll never come close to Wagner’s performances. The pianist says of the etudes: “There’s such intensity and dreamlike qualities. It demands  the courage to surrender oneself entirely  to repetition, allowing the mind to drift freely. “My relationship to these etudes is continuously evolving, shaped by the ebb and flow of my personal life, my shifting  moods, and my accumulated experience  performing them over the years. These pieces become lifelong companions - growing, maturing, and resonating ever more deeply within me.” Most of these etudes are technically challenging and virtuosic, with Wagner making it all sound so simple. As an example of modern piano works, this album is an almost perfect place to start. Begin with number 3 if you like something exciting and energetic, or at number 20, for a little peace and dynamic control. Or enjoy all 20, one by one: lose yourself.