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Thank you for coming over to find out more about me. Each of the pages here will tell you more and this section contains 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.

Having seen the totally marvellous Nicole Zuraitis performing live in London in July 2024 with her London trio, it is a delight to hear the singer with a larger ensemble. ‘Live At Vic’s’ allows this vocalist, pianist and songwriter to wow the audience in the eponymous Las Vegas jazz club, as well as listeners to this new CD. From the opening blues Got My Mojo Working through the gorgeous swinging The Nearness of You and the comic I Like You a Latte (the Coffee Song) , the Grammy-winning Zuraitis plays with the audience as much as with her eminent band. Speaking of which, this is just a lovely ensemble, including long-established musical partner Dan Pugach (drums) plus Idan Morim (guitar) and Samuel Weber (bass). Special guests are Keyon Harold (trumpet), Rachel Eckroth (organ) and Tom Scott (sax). When I saw her in London, Zuraitis was still celebrating her 2024 Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal album with How Love Begins : particularly historic as she was the first independent artist to win in this category (who also wrote and arranged the entire album themselves). Now she is also part of the Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble alongside partner and collaborator Dan Pugach for Bianca Reimagined: Music for Paws and Persistence , inspired by their mutual passion for rescuing and fostering dogs. Not only did I catch Nicole on stage in July 2024, but I also interviewed her earlier this year for Harmonious World. Listen to our chat here . Zuraitis explains something of what makes Live at Vic’s so special: “It’s jazz. The magic of it is the improv. So the songs are 11 minutes, and everybody’s shredding. I wanted to make an album for people of songs that I adore. This feels like the pinnacle of my career to get onstage and go: This is what I sound like. Every single thing on this album is arranged by me or written by me. It’s all live, unedited. No auto tune.  Everything is here.” If you only listen to one track from this album, make it the terrific arrangement of Wichita Lineman - seven minutes of jazz and vocal gymnastics that made me immediately check out Zuraitis’s tour dates to see where I can hear her next.

Never be afraid to find new music to enjoy - it may be closer than you think. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Hitchin Chamber Orchestra was the perfect opportunity for the ensemble to commission a special piece by the town’s very own composer and pianist Iain Farrington . Iain Farrington and HIlary at the premiere of Talk of the Town Talk of the Town  is a suite of five movements for string orchestra and I had the chance to speak to Iain about his approach to the composition and something of his background on Harmonious World . Although living and working in Hitchin, he is an internationally renowned composer, pianist and organist and was recently made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music alongside luminaries such as Alexis Ffrench, Pretty Yende, Brian Eno and Gary Crosby. The concert followed weeks of rehearsal and this lovely string orchestra, expertly conducted by the young and ridiculously-talented Daniel Hogan , performed a selection of their favourite works by Ireland, Vaughan Williams, Rutter, Finzi and Elgar alongside the Farrington premiere. If you listened to our podcast chat, you'll have heard Iain's commentary on Talk of the Town, and where the inspiration came from. Hitchin is a quaint English market town with a long history and for those of us, the motifs included in the music were reminiscent of all the town stands for and the people who make it special. Iain collaborated with the orchestra to create a work that is significant and achievable by the collection of professional, semi-professional and gifted amateur musicians. The five movements that make up Talk of the Town - Saturday Market The Font of St Mary's; Sledging on Windmill Hill; Farewell, Old Home; and Town Square Celebration - are individual yet make up a cohesive whole, although it feels very much like the final movement could be arranged for different ensembles and become something of a town theme tune. Regardless of future performance or recording opportunities of Talk of the Town , this world premiere was a perfect example of the excellent composing and performing of which Hitchin can be justifiably proud. The encore was inspired - Percy Grainger’s Handel in the Strand , with Farrington at the piano. It brought the evening to a perfect conclusion and was a touching way to conclude the celebrations of Hitchin Chamber Orchestra's Tenth Anniversary.

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

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

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.

Launching an EP at London’s Vortex Jazz Club is pretty cool and even on a hot evening Germana Stella La Sorsa and Tom Ollendorff produced the coolest duo jazz to launch their new release - ‘After Hours’. Germana and Tom Singer and storyteller Germana Stella La Sorsa and guitarist Tom Ollendorff present After Hours - a captivating jazz duo EP. The launch event at The Vortex Jazz Club in London’s trendy Dalston area was laid back and the perfect, intimate setting in which to hear some of the tracks alongside other tunes performed by this duo. Released the morning after the Vortex gig, After Hours is the perfect interplay between La Sorsa’s mellifluous voice and Ollendorff’s expressive guitar. A collection of six original compositions and familiar songs, the arrangements allow the duo to complement each other throughout. The pair began the launch event as they begin the EP itself, with a gentle arrangement of the classic Lennon and McCartney Because: sweet, with a real jazz approach that makes it the duo’s own. By the third tune, also from the EP, Procida , there was a clear sense of the Ollendorff-La Sorsa sound with this original composition. While After Hours celebrates well-known composers and songwriters from a wide spectrum including tunes by Brazilian composer Pixinguinha as well as The Beatles, the original tracks complement those selections. La Sorsa says: “After the release of my latest work Primary Colours , I felt the need to return to the origins of my voice, focusing even more on my instrument rather than on new original compositions. Tom and I had already worked as a duo on one of the songs composed for my frst album Vapour and I knew he would be the ideal partner to give vent to my artistic need of returning to the essential.Thinking about After Hours - and even before working on the music with Tom - I could hear a simple sound and I knew I wanted to create something completely different from my previous albums.” Click here to hear Tom Ollendorff talking about his own album, Open House . The perfect soundtrack for a hot summer's evening, After Hours works equally well when the rain starts to fall and a more melancholy tone sets in.

One of the best ways of discovering new music - for me, at least - is to research the other musicians on stage. Asking a few questions has brought me to the simply stunning ' L'Antidote ' album from percussionist Bijan Chemirani, pianist Remi Khalifé and cellist Redi Hasa. All because the latter's cello deeply moved me when I saw him performing recently with Ludovico Einaudi at the Royal Albert Hall. I loved Hasa's playing for Einaudi and it was a delight to hear that he had a forthcoming album due with L’Antidote trio . The first single, Na Na Na is out now to whet your appetite. This is a genuinely extraordinary trio - geographically, culturally and musically. Using percussion, piano and cello in this collection of ten tracks allows an exploration of the influences from these three musicians: Chemirani from Iran, Khalifé from Lebanon and Hasa from Albania. I can only suggest you put the album on repeat and allow each track to play in sequence to explore the collective composition and creativity of L'Antidote. Each of these musicians has collaborated with a string of the biggest names in music around the world and together they produce something very special. Tracks like Dates, Figs and Nuts will make your feet itch to dance: it builds rhythmically and melodically with each musician contributing layer upon layer of sound. Closing the album with the plaintive cello opening to L'Ombre Qui Passe (the passing shadow) is extraordinary. Lines interweave and a piano melody sits alongside on this poignant, all-too-brief ending to a stunning collection of tracks.

I’m late to the party on this album, but I found ‘Letters from the Atlantic’ again in my ‘To Listen To’ pile and I’m glad it resurfaced, just as Butcher Brown  are preparing to embark on a tour  across the US and Europe. Although Letters from the Atlantic  was released back in March, there’s a summer vibe to it which makes a summer day reviewing it more than perfect. Their cover of Infant Eyes  by Wayne Shorter is as sublime as their original tracks, such as the uber-cool I Remember , which features Yaya Bey. The core band of five - Tennishu (trumpet, tenor sax, vocals), Morgan Burrs (Guitar, MPC), DJ Harrison (keyboards, piano, percussion), R4ND4ZZO (basses) and Coret Fonville (drums, percussion) - is enhanced by guest artists, just as they appear on others’ musical enterprises. If you want some cool tunes that effortlessly blend jazz, rock, funk, R&B, soul and bossa nova, look no further.

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 Valdes. 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