The latest album from Australian jazz quintet Hand to Earth is ‘Ŋurru Wäŋa’ , pronounced Wooroo Wanga. The album brings traditional music up to date with a collection of musicians from different backgrounds, birthplaces and musical approaches. Daniel and David Wilfred describe themselves as Yolŋu song keepers and this project allows them to recontextualise their 40,000 year old song tradition. Joining together with  Sunny Kim (vocals), Peter Knight (trumpet and electronics) and Aviva Endean (woodwind). Adding to their number on tour with the UK’s own Shabaka, the ensemble is touring Ŋurru Wäŋa . Each tune on the album and live performances has special meaning and is brought up to date in a combination of styles and arrangements.   The title track of Ŋurru Wäŋa  is in two parts, with Sunny Kim reciting Korean poet Yoon Dong Ju’s poem Another Home  while Daniel Wilfred sings in the Wäglilak language. The juxtaposition of the two languages, alongside music that is both ethereal and deeply rooted in a wide range of influences both traditional and more modern jazz. Trumpeter and producer Peter Knight says: “Daniel’s song cycle traces the flight of the birds, the Mäḏawk and Wäk Wäk. It describes the seasons, and the Stringybark tree, Gaḏayka, that supplies the bark for painting, and the wood for the bilma (clapping sticks).  With the exception of The Crow, which was recorded in New York, these songs landed in single takes in one session recording just the voice, bilma, and yidaki with some synth drones and other materials. The rest of the sounds came later in separate iterative recording sessions, in which the  settings for the songs were developed through spontaneous layering and rubbing back.” Switching off the outside world and listening to the deeply meaningful and evocative tunes on Ŋurru Wäŋa transports the listener to an entrancing new world that combines familiar and new music and language.

Composer and pianist Bill Laurance has a seemingly unstoppable creativity that takes him in new directions, from Snarky Puppy and his duo work with Michael League to the latest album ‘Lumen’. Sitting inside St Faith's Church in Dulwich, a tiny suburb of South London, one of the finest musicians of his generation was able to escape from some of the impositions of the outside world and Lumen  is a stunning collection of compositions and improvisations. Bill says: ”I'm not a very religious person, but it was special to play there while everyday life was on hold. And it's different when you're in that kind of setting, just communicating with yourself. I wanted to capture the freedom in music that arises at moments like that.” The freedom of sitting at an acoustic concert grand piano with some fully-composed pieces also gave Bill the opportunity to explore the sounds of the moment within both the piano and the building. "When you play solo, you have a unique opportunity to explore that. Recording in a church was the perfect setting and let me fully surrender to the music. The superb guitarist Isaiah Sharkey once said to me that it’s the music itself which tells him what to play. That idea really left its mark on me. We are usually trained to control everything, to practice until it’s perfect. But I think I've got to a point where I just want to let it flow. Do the opposite, let the music take the lead." It was a pleasure to interview Bill in his studio just around the corner from the church in spring of 2024 for an episode of Harmonious World . He shared some of his creative ideas and where they came from for one of last year’s albums - Bloom . He mentioned during our conversation his search for creative outlets and Lumen  feels like his re-connection with the music of his soul, stripped bare. Lumen  comes from the recording of around three hours of music and tunes like the glorious brief but expressive title track could have been longer, but don’t need that extension. On this tune in particular, light emerges from the darkness as the higher notes swim above the disappearing bass at the start and middle of the track - taking over and quietening to the fade out. Alongside the grand piano, there are touches of a felted piano, heard perfectly in the simple but softly expressive theme of Mantra . People often ask me which jazz musicians or albums they should listen to for a way into the music and Lumen  is one that I’ve been recommending for a while, particularly for people who have heard Bill’s work with Snarky Puppy. This is different, but clearly comes from the same creative well. Solo piano is a joy and Lumen  is majestically simple and beautifully performed and recorded. The album ends with Even After All , gently leading us through Bill’s thoughts on where he is now as a mature musician, with the occasional audible sigh that seems utterly visceral. We are almost in the room: the final chord is released and one can only wish for more.

Brazil comes to Britain and spills over around the rest of the world in the hands of pianist Paul Harrison as he celebrates the music of Brazilian genius Egberto Gismonti. Paul Harrison is based in Scotland but he felt himself drawn to the compositions and playing of the Brazilian Egberto Gismonti. In Encontros , he has brought a new collection with his ensemble Trio Mágico, which was formed specifically to bring this project to stage and recording. Harrison says: “The music got under my skin. I was particularly taken by the fact  that Gismonti offered alternatives to samba and bossa nova, much though I like these  styles, and that he was showing that Brazil had so much more music and so many  rhythms. Each piece presented a challenge but in a good way and I quickly grew to love the diversity involved.” The musicians gathered for Encontros  have a rich global mixture of cultures and traditions. Trio Mágico features Harrison (piano) with Scottish-based Brazilian Mario Lima Caribe (bass) and Stu Brown (drums). Together they have released this album with guest appearances from Edmundo Carneiro (percussion), Laura Macdonald (sax), Rachel Lightbody (vocals), Sua-Le (cello) and Fraser Fifield (whistle). The selection of tracks is inspired, with each one conveying a different aspect of Brazilian music that goes far beyond the rhythms which most of us would recognise. Lightbody’s vocals on Loro  have a lightness and intricacy that particularly works alongside the percussion and Harrison’s own piano. Harrison switches it up as he moves to melodica for the upbeat and bouncy Karate  that plays rhythmic tricks on the listener. The vocals are inspired again on Bianca , as they float around Fifield’s whistle on a track that seems to bring Brazil and Scotland together particularly well. In the end the closing track of Encontros  is the perfectly brief A Fala Da Paixão  (the speech of passion). Egberto Gismonti says of the album: “it has humour, has grace, has freedom to play.” Nowhere is that more true than in this tune as the final notes fade to silence.

The multi-talented Anders Hagberg has released a remarkable collection of globally-influenced iracks on ‘With Hope’ Opening with Elasticity of Trees  and a breathy flute over sparse piano, bass and percussion, the entire collection of tunes on With Hope  brings a sense of the positive that we all need in this difficult world. I have reviewed very few albums that centre around flute, even though it’s one of my favourite instruments to both play and listen to. Hagberg has collaborated with some giants of contemporary music including Avishai Cohen, Marilyn Mazur and Jon Hassell and With Hope  delivers a selection of tunes that are composed or improvised, as well as those inspired by traditional songs from Ukraine. Meanwhile, the album concludes with an arrangement of Francis Poulenc’s O Magnum Mysterium  with one of the gorgeous lower flutes that sits beautifully with the bass. Joining Anders Hagberg (concert, alto, bass and contrabass flutes, soprano sax, matusi and singing bowl) are Johannes Lundberg (double bass, vocals, Oberheim, FX), Joona Toivanen (piano, prepared piano, synthesizer, Key Bird, FX) and Helge Andreas Norbakken (percussion, drums). The external influences on Hagberg’s composition, arrangement and improvement are immense, especially in Ruins, Evening Hymn  and With Hope , which are all inspired by chorales from Gammelsvenskby in Ukraine. Similarly, Arctic Call  comes from an Inuit drum song and Woods in Blue  reflects a traditional Swedish polska from Härjedalen. Together, the collection of tunes take those influences from around the world and combine effortlessly into the Hagberg quartet’s own style. Hagberg says: “For me, this music is a response to the challenges we face. It’s filled with sadness, but also hope. Hope that I find in listening and creating together, in children’s play, in small acts of resistance and resilience. Music allows us to see the beauty that still exists in these uncertain times.” A warning: I finished this review and hadn't realised that I had kept With Hope playing. as the tracks went roung again There is a mesmeric quality to the album and I hope you can get lost in it, too.

Pianist and composer Dave Bristow  brings his quintet for your listening delight with their second album - ‘ Sides ’, featuring the extraordinary talent that is guitar icon Mike Stern. Stern brings his experience of working with luminaries such as Miles Davis and Jaco Pastorius and Bristow’s quintet acquits itself perfectly. Tracks like Light Speed  blister along right through until the solid, luminous conclusion. Bristow is joined by Christian Altehülshorst (trumpet), Félix Hardouin (alto sax), Gabriel Pierre (bass) and Guillaume Prévost (drums). The quintet recorded in two sessions over a year apart and are joined not only by the esteemed Stern’s guitar, but also by Caloé and Katrin-Merili Poom (vocals), Gustave Reichert (guitar), and Tommy Scott (Fender Rhodes). The opening track, Stars of Orion  sets the tone for this collection of nine original compositions that each take the listener on a beautiful journey around the world of modern jazz. Bristow is a Brit, living in Paris, and his compositions seem to spread its influence across the Atlantic and through Europe. The quintet combines effortlessly within the central composition and individual improvisations. There is a classical cadence to some of Bristow’s compositions and Pierre’s bass combines delightfully with the French vocals of Caloé on Rêverie d’Automne . If Stars of Orion  sets a beautiful start to Sides , then it is The End  which encapsulates everything Bristow and his quintet have to offer. Featuring the vocals of Katrin-Merili Poom extensive electric guitar from Gustave Reichert and Fender Rhodes touches of Tommy Scott alongside the core quintet, there is a lovely final flourish from Bristow's piano. As well as thanking the technical team and those who supported him through the recording of this album, Bristow says: “A big thank you to my amazing group; Christian, Félix, Gabriel and Guillaume and the wonderful guest musicians Caloé, Katrin, Gustave and Tommy for their stellar musicianship, time and generosity, and especially to Mike Stern who went above and beyond to help us and for believing in the strength of our music.”

You really don’t want to see the pile of CDs and stacks of download folders I have to listen to, but there’s some gems in there: there’s a lightness about ‘Iridescence’ from songwriter Danny Widdicombe and jazz trio Trichotomy . I was pleased to hit play - eventually - on this July launch from Earshift Music . Danny Widdicombe brings his songwriting talents to a gen-re bending treat in collaboration with piano trio Trichotomy. Iridescence  is a collection of 10 tunes that swing effortlessly between jazz, folk, soul and a little bit of country (check out Stare into the Sun). As well as a lightness and controlled simplicity, Iridescence  has a sense of spontaneity in the creativity, as Widdicombe explains: “We didn’t really plan out a lot of the music. We had sketches of songs and just went into the studio. The songs took their shape throughout the session.” The album recording took place ‘live’ at the iconic MONA art museum in Tasmania and perhaps that also brings some of the spontaneity. The bouncy It’ll Be OK  takes us to a better place. Iridescence  builds on the successful collaboration of Widdicombe and Trichotomy with the 2019 release Between the Lines . The lineup seems effortless, creative and productive: Danny Widdicombe (vocal, guitar, synth), Sean Foran (piano, keyboards), John Parker (drums, percussion) and Samuel Vincent (electric bass). There’s a special appearance with strings from Luke Moller. The intricacy and complexity of vocal lines on Sunshine State of Mind  rides above lovely trio work before the darkness of the Black Magic  tale of revenge and “little white pins stuck inside my head”. Lyrically, Widdicombe explores the human condition from all angles. Foran says: “There’s scope in the music for us to be really creative. It challenges us to respond to Danny’s lyrics and songwriting craft. These are beautiful songs that really stay with you.” Enjoy the varied colours of Iridescence . Australian music that refuses to be shoved into a specific genre.

The latest album from rising star Ineza is a simply entrancing celebration of this young woman’s life and experiences, using jazz to express herself both vocally and in the context of her quintet. Ineza and her quintet The album launch for Ibuka  took place in the intimate setting of Alfie’s Jazz Club during the Soho Jazz Festival 2025: Ineza’s compositions were perfectly suited to a Friday night in the heart of Soho. ‘Ibuka’ is a Kinyarwanda word for ‘remember’ and each of these eight brilliant compositions take us with the singer as she harks back to her birth in Rwanda, subsequent adoption and life in Belgium, through to her home now in London. Ineza’s story is fascinating, and she gave hints of it in explaining each of the tracks. Ibuka’s closing track, Kwibuka , recalls the 1994 genocide that devastated Rwanda shortly after the singer’s birth, her contribution to the 2024 commemoration. Performing it towards the end of the evening brought a real sense of hope and peace, with an evocation to explore the “beauty underneath all this pain”. The sole love song on the album - Silence  - was performed beautifully on the night. The singer says: “It’s the only love song on the album,but the album’s overall themes of loss, identity, and finding yourself can still be found. It’s about living with a complicated back story and finding it hard to express that to a partner.” Additional compositions Ineza covered on the night include the Kenny Wheeler Everybody’s Song But My Own , with lyrics by the great Norma Winstone, and a stunning version of Afro Blue.  The fine group of musicians on Ibuka  also joined Ineza for the launch: Michael Lack (alto sax), Rob Brockway (piano), Ben Crane (double bass) and Kuba Miazga (drums).  Her name, chosen by her biological mother, means ‘goodness’ in Kinyarwanda and Ineza says: “Something good came out of a bad situation.” Ineza talked fondly of her adoptive mother, Francine Declerq, and the moving Song For My Mother  was dedicated to her. Ineza also mentioned contact with her birth mother and then the passing of Francine two years later. She says: “Learning the art of singing helped me immensely with learning to live without her. Ibuka  is a love note to my adoptive mother, whom I loved very much—a meditation on memory, heritage, and the echoes of yesterdays.” This album launch was an emotional event. I interviewed Ineza for Harmonious World  earlier in the year to discuss her collaboration with Alex Webb and The Copasetics on Women’s Words, Sisters’ Stories , but I discovered a new side to her with this gig and the album itself. A couple approached me at the end of the night as they had seen me taking notes: they, too, were moved by Ineza and her songs. Visiting London from Barcelona, they told a similar story about memory, displacement and the overall sense of hope that the night had brought. The woman (she had told me her name, and I failed to write it down) explained that she was from Venezuela and Ineza’s stories about the beauty of Rwanda and the difficult history had resonated with them both. An emotional evening on so many levels and Ineza’s Ibuka  will remain with me for some time.

GroundUP Music once more pushes exciting music to the fore and into our ears. ‘ IN.SIGHT ’ from Fabia Mantwill  is one of those large ensemble albums that is nevertheless intimate and refreshing.   One of the reasons for loving this album is that it is truly orchestral. The Fabia Mantwill Orchestra  consists of 32 musicians, with six soloists who take us through every genre from contemporary classical and big band to funk, rock and an overall sense of the cinematic. Founded in 2012 by five-time GRAMMY® Award-winner Michael League, GroundUP Music  was created as a supportive platform for Snarky Puppy and its members. Originally launched to release the group’s sixth album, GroundUP, the label quickly expanded,  fostering solo careers for artists like Justin Stanton, Mark Lettieri, Bill Laurance, and Cory Henry, and gaining wider recognition after  Snarky Puppy’s 2014 GRAMMY® win. Which is where this gets really interesting, because all the compositions on IN.SIGHT are composed by sax player, vocalist and producer Mantwill working alongside League himself and celebrated Greek composer Magdalini Giannikou. Together, the three produce a collection of tunes that showcase this exceptional ensemble and provides each of the soloists the space to improvise. When the trio composed, it was with each of the soloists in mind. And composed all these tracks in just 72 hours. Roosevelt Collier’s guitar on Whirl the Wheel  sparkles and radiates a rock sensibility. Although Fairy Glen  begins with an introduction from the sumptuous and soaring string section, and a groove by the wider ensemble, the guitar of Kurt Rosenwinkel rises from the ensemble. Throughout the album, there is Mantwill’s sax and vocals, as well as her voice in composition and arrangements. She says: “I quickly realized that the only way to make this happen was to let go of control, trust the process, and allow the music to guide me. Once I did that, everything began to unfold naturally. For me, music is about connection – about getting in resonance with each other and spreading positivity.”

A truly extraordinary evening of exemplary musicianship from Einaudi and his outstanding musicians as they embark on a record-breaking set of appearances at one of London's finest venues. (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.

This year has been an incredible one for music releases and I haven’t always kept up. There is a ‘To Listen To’ pile that I am occasionally dipping into. One album that slipped through the net but remained on the pile comes from Gayle Skidmore, with her April 2025 release of ‘The Ashtabula River Railroad Disaster’. This is an album of beautiful music that commemorates one of the worst tragedies in America’s history, but it is more than that: there is a sense of resilience that could be a lesson to us all. On 29 December 1876, a rail bridge collapsed in Ashtabula, Ohio, claiming the lives of 92 people, including renowned hymn writer Philip P Bliss, a relative of Skidmore. Eventually, the coroner's report found that the bridge had been improperly designed by the railroad company president, poorly constructed, and inadequately inspected. As a result of the accident, a hospital was built in the town and a federal system set up to formally investigate fatal railroad accidents. The eleven tracks on Skidmore’s album show her composition and piano skills that seem to capture the humanity at the heart of the disaster. The collection is also a tribute to her grandmother, who passed away in 2019, and who was proud of their family's connection to Bliss. I don’t often put an album on and listen to it from beginning to end without stopping and going back or skipping forward, but this album revolves around the central, title track. Preceded by tunes which establish the context, followed by a series of heart-breaking melodies: Return to the Flames, Among the Wreckage, The River Bed, Ashes in the Snow  and The Last Farewell of Charles Collins and Amasa Stone. I defy anyone to listen to the final, brief track - A Hymn for the Lost - without taking a pause to remember those we have lost in their own tragedies. Skidmore explains, "I grew up hearing about Philip P Bliss and singing the songs he composed, but never knew how he had tragically perished until I discovered the details during the Covid-19 lockdown. Every account of the disaster that I came across was incredibly moving and emotional, and I really felt affected by the story. Not only is this album different because it is an entirely instrumental solo piano, but it is also focused on a singular historical event. I've never released anything like this before." It may have taken more than four months for The Ashtabula River Railroad Disaste r to reach the top of the pile, but I'm very glad it did.

Another late discovery for me brings together Swiss pianist Michael Arbenz and British saxophonist Andy Sheppard with a live album celebrating two geniuses without whom music would definitely be the lesser. ‘From Bach to Ellington - Live’ allows both musicians to perform as individuals and as a duo: the trouble with live albums like this is that I always regret not having been at the recording at the Bird’s Eye Jazz Club in Basel in August 2024. Sheppard has long been a stalwart of the British jazz scene and this exploration of Bach and Ellington with the esteemed Arbenz is almost the perfect (double) musical marriage. Opening the album with Ellington’s Melancholia  is a bold choice, setting the tone for piano and sax weaving together and separating for their own improvisations around one of the most evocative of Duke’s compositions. Upping the tempo and tearing apart the Baroque Bach for the next track, Arbenz’s Psalm  is inspired by  Bach’s Cantata BWV 146. Returning to Ellington with African Flower,  Arbenz brings the melody and introduces Sheppard’s sax with this seldom-played track, before more Bach inspiration comes from the Prelude in C. The resulting Where It Springs Into Being seems familiar with Sheppard’s sax very much 21st century above Arbenz’s opening piano before the track itself springs into more exploration of the Bach original. The final two Ellington tracks - Reflections in D  and Warm Valley  - seem to owe much to Bach and prove that Duke was so much more than the classic American songbook tunes he is more widely known for. Reading the bios of these two musicians is, itself, extraordinary: Sheppard is one of the few soloists to perform in the big bands of all three of the greatest post-war composers, Carla Bley, Gil Evans, and George Russell.  Arbenz’s career has seen him tour extensively throughout Europe, North America, Asia and South America, performing and recording with trio VEIN and alongside a host of highly respected musicians in international contemporary Jazz including Greg Osby, Ron Carter, Glenn Ferris, Dave Liebman, Marc Johnson, and Wolfgang Puschnig. The duo format is a new and exciting one for Arbenz and Sheppard, who first connected through their long-standing trio VEIN and this double marriage with Bach and Ellington is built to last. It’s a shame that it’s taken a couple of months for the CD to reach the top of my To Listen To pile. And look at that artwork - what a stunning album cover!

Composer and pianist Craig Urquhart has released ‘Emergence’, his 14th album of original piano compositions. His past albums are a constant in my life, as his writing and playing is consistently beautiful and so it was a delight to receive this latest album. Emergence is another stunning collection of beautiful solo piano pieces that the composer describes as “a musical exploration of transformation, introspection and unfolding”. My discovery of Urquhart came initially from my initial interview with Garrett Keast from the Berlin Academy of American Music for a 2021 episode  of Harmonious World. In 2022 I interviewed Urquhart for a first episode  about Lamentation for Flute and Strings , which had featured on the BAAM album, and then Keast for a second episode . Finally, in 2024, I interviewed Urquhart in person when I visited Berlin and that made a delightful episode . Solo piano can be - and definitely is here - meditative and contemplative. The opening title track seems to welcome the listener in to Urquhart’s world, before we are taken through a series of musical vignettes where the titles themselves allow us to explore such concepts as Gratitude, Remembering  and Endearment . The nine tracks all tell a very personal story and allow us to experience our own stories through the music. The closing track of the album is Arise : a brief, positive, tune that can only encourage us to start again as we head wherever life takes us. Leonard Bernstein once said: “Craig’s music reaches through the invisible walls with an immeasurable sense of peace and beauty.” When you have enjoyed Emergence , I can only recommend you return to Urquhart’s other albums to discover more of that peace and beauty.