Search this site

‘Quiet Lights’, the new trio album from drummer Florian Arbenz is an extraordinary work, including as it does Bill Frisell and Greg Osby. Arbenz’s compositions, drums and percussion bear the additional masterful tinge of Bill Frisell (guitar) and Greg Osby (sax). Together, the trio sounds much more than that, as the guitar and sax weave around each other and around the percussive rhythms of the leader. They sometimes seem so far apart and at others come together in a miraculous feat that comes from listening to each other. I am reliably informed that almost all of the takes used on the album are first takes - recorded live in just four hours. Arbenz brought in his compositions and the trio together did the rest. Arbenz explains: “After much thought, I decided to create simple, but sound-wise, very defined and slightly unusual settings to fit the sounds of Bill’s guitar and Greg’s sax.” To take those initial compositions and allow each member of the trio to add their own interpretation is bold - six of the seven tracks are Arbenz’s and the exception is Lueget vo Berg und Tal (Look from Mountain and Valley), a Swiss traditional tune. Considering each musician in the composition process means that these tunes and this experience in the studio brings a unique recording. The opening track - Homenaje (Tribute) - opens with Arbenz’s drums and percussion before first Osby and then Frisell make their opening Salvo. Delicately and subtly at first as they explore the composition and allow it to flow through their very distinctive musical sounds and styles. I’m not even sure which percussion starts Chant, but it opens a very different door into the souls of these musicians, with gongs and bells signalling a spiritual melody from the sax that evolves as the guitar begins. A truly beautiful track, the end seems to come right when the trio have said all they want to say. Jammin’ in the Children's Corner (originally written for Dave Liebman) could not be more different, changing tempo and feel again with Lueget vo Berg und Tal (Look from Mountain and Valley) before bringing a groove back with The Barradas Opening. Frisell’s link sets a perfect base for Osby’s sax until they then join for the melody and split off again. Again, this separating and coming together seems totally instinctive. The title track is the penultimate track and almost the perfect vehicle for this trio to come together and explore melody, rhythm and chords. The exuberant Rhumba brings out Osby’s soprano sax, which seems equally fitting with Frisell’s guitar and Arbenz’s drums and percussion. It then morphs into a buzzy, busy improvisation with electronics and a wonderful descent into silence. I sincerely hope that this was the end of the recording session - it feels like each of these fine musicians had said what they needed to. ‘Quiet Lights’ is out on 29 May 2026 on Hammer Records

Pianist John Donegan released Interfuse in December 2025 and it includes a sensitive selection of quartet, trio, duo and solo piano tunes. Donegan is a sensitive pianist and inspired composer and arranger. On Interfuse, he demonstrates all of that across a variety of formats, with Richie Buckley (tenor and soprano saxes), Bernard O’Neill (bass) and John Daly (drums). The opening Blues Jive allows Buckley’s tenor sax to let rip and as we move to the title track, the album mellows with more sax. All the time, Donegan allows his piano to support and take the lead in solos, sitting back at times to allow the other musicians to shine. O’Neill’s bass on the title track is subtle - he’s producer as well, and he resists the temptation to make more of his instrumental contribution. When we get to Donegan’s the solo piano intro to Funny Isn’t It? we can hear the lightness of touch that is, indeed, humorous. Even with the addition of bass and drums, this is very much a piano feature. Similarly, Rumba de Ciudad and Sonorial and A Kite for Kate make good use of the piano trio format. Buckley joins us once more Five to One (wittily in 5/4 time). Donegan says of this one: “The idea behind the tune is an imaginary conversation taking place with five of Ireland’s foremost literary giants: Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, WB Yeatsm James Joyce and Samuel Beckett. All these writers have been influential in my appreciation of modern Irish literature and were hughely innovative in their works.” When Donegan takes the piano solo for A Song for Ciara, he explores the extent of the instrument. Similarly, on the duet with soprano sax - A Resolute Rose - the piano does more than accompany the melody: this is a real duo composition, performed with sensitivity. Throughout Interfuse, there is a variety of touch and style, with Donegan’s creative piano at its core. You can buy John Donegan’s ‘Interfuse’ on Bandcamp

When Australian singer-songwriter Dannielle Gaha DeAndrea brought her show to The Pheasantry on London’s Kings Road, she performed an eclectic selection of tunes. For the first half of her Pizza Epress Live show, Dannielle was joined by Jim Watson (piano) and Phil Donnelly (bass) to perform tunes from her 2025 album The United Sessions, written and recorded with Larry Goldings in LA. There’s a humour and positivity about the album - eight originals and two covers - and that was conveyed by this trio, with Dannielle especially engaging comfortably with the audience. The second half of the show featured many of the tunes Dannielle has recorded in the past, both as a solo artists and also as part of Scary Pockets. She did a version of the cover Crazy in Chelsea and you can get a flavour of her style on a live video. For this more soulful set, Jim Watson’s piano was ably abetted by Phi Donnelly switching to bass guitar, joined by Kyle De Andrea (guitar) and the brilliant Pedro Segundo (drums). A great night out was had by all in the packed Chelsea basement on one of the hottest days of 2026 so far. Listen to ‘The United Sessions’ on Bandcamp

One of my favourite guests on Harmonious World - Joe Lovano - is set to release a new album with his ‘Paramount Quartet’. Lovano is one of those musicians who is constantly striving for the very best - the ‘paramount’, if you will. Hence this album with a very special quartet. It was an honour, back in April 2021, to interview Joe Lovano for Harmonious World, given his several appearances in my music collection. For 2026, Paramount Quartet features Lovano on tenor and G mezzo soprano saxes and tarogato, the latter of which is a woodwind instrument most commonly found in Hungarian folk music. The remainder of this uniquely elegant and entertaining quartet is Julian Lage (guitar), Asante Santi Debriano (double bass) and Will Calhoun (drums). We’re becoming increasingly familiar with the guitar sound of Lage and his introduction on First Song sets the scene beautifully for Lovano’s evocative sax: the pair had originally met decades ago and it seems impossible that this is their first project together. Not only does their sound work so well together, but they seem to each invoke the other in their improvised solos before the whole quartet leads the tune to its conclusion. There’s a freedom to Amsterdam as Lovano swaps onto the rarer mezzo soprano sax, which fits equally well with this quartet, as bass and drums support and stretch the lead instruments. Back on a solo tenor, the introduction to The Call reminds us exactly why Lovano has such an established reputation. Combining freedom and a groove, Congregation is just beyond cool. If I wanted to show someone contemporary jazz at its finest, I might very well choose this album and this final track to woo and wow them. Whenever these players hint at a freedom, they come right back to something uber-subtle and expressive. Lovano says: “Will Calhoun has a way of playing that is so expansive and beautiful in so many directions. And the same with Asante. His roots, his Panamanian roots, and being around New York, playing with Archie Shepp and Randy Weston and some other folks through the years… We've known each other since the 80s. And then Julian [Lage] is among the most gifted players in the music…” ‘Joe Lovano: Paramount Quartet’ is out on 29 May from ECM Records

The prolific global trumpeter and composer Rachel Therrien has produced another great album - ‘Mi Hogar II’. Withher Latin Jazz Project Mi Hogar II, Rachel set out to record an album to follow up on the 2023 Mi Hogar and in the process, she employed the talents of many musicians - far too many to list here - to reflect on community. She quite deliberately brought together the modern jazz elements with those from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Afro-Cuban music. The album starts with John Benitez’s Fiestas Campesinas. Beginning as an extended piano introduction, the arrival of the other musicians and Rachel’s stunning trumpet, this tune sets the tone for all of those influences to come together. There are some brilliant improvised solos that demonstrate clearly why Rachel chose to use those musicians. Whatever the style or tempo, Rachel’s trumpet solos are inspired and a genuine reflection of the sub-genre: Orun and Beauty Free have a subtlety, while the bass opening of Soucy heralds some less subtle but equally engaging rhythms, melodic lines and improvisation passages. I cheated when it came to listening to Back Home and I watched the YouTube video. You should, too: the video was filmed in New Orleans but it also contains references to the New York jazz traditions and music from south America. I was pleased to be able to chat with Rachel at jazzahead! in April and you can listen in on Harmonious World. I was delighted to discover that Rachel has performed with the wonderful Arturo O’Farrill, who I chatted to in June 2021. Listen to ‘Mi Hogar II’ and more of Rachel Therrien’s music on Bandcamp

‘NRG5’ is out now from drummer and producer Chiminyo and it is totally entrancing. Recorded live at Peckham Levels, e very track takes a different flow - all improvised around the specific energy in the room with those artists and that audience. Reunite starts us off gently, and the tension builds with Transference and the tantalisingly brief Somnus. The latter begins with just a few openin notes dotted between instruments and the audience delight before the drums join in to really get that groove going. NRG5 is full of energy and Chiminyo is joined by leading musicians Kaidi Akinnibi (sax), Oscar Jerome (guitar), Charlie Stacey (keys, synths), Rudi Creswick (bass, bass synth, sampler) and Magnus Mehta (percussion). Together they combine ‘real’ instruments with electronics and effects to produce a collection of tracks that sit somewhere in the jazz world - not that it matters. By the time we reach Breaking Point, this final track of NRG5 feels like a very, very deliberate encapsulation of the energy in the room. Akinnibi’s sax allows the gaps to say as much as the notes. This is a band on fire - friends and fellow musicians feeding off each other and the audience. And they’re all giving as much as they are sharing. Find ‘NRG5’ from Chiminyo on Bandcamp

I bumped into trumpeter Henry Spencer while travelling to jazzahead! a few weeks ago and now I’ve had the chance to listen to his 2023 album ‘The Defector’. Although this music has been out for a couple of years, it’s an exciting album from this award-winning trumpeter and flugelhorn player. The Defector features all original compositions that Spencer has developed with his impressive band: Ant Law (guitar), Matt Robinson (piano, Fender Rhodes), Andrew Robb (bass) and David Ingamells (drums). They’re joined by a string quartet on a number of tracks: John Garner (violin), Marie Schreer (violin), Lydia Abell (viola) and Colin Alexander (cello). Starting with the title track, this album combines the skills of the quintet, with trumpet and flugel soaring above and sometimes intertwining melodically with guitar or Rhodes. Rhythmically, this is an exciting track with which to start the album, promising much for the ensuing tunes. Slowing down neither tempo nor intensity, Perfect Hindrance once more features the whole quintet before the beautiful rhythmic opening of Undone and the softly lyrical Moment Gained. Across The Defector, Spencer’s trumpet (and flugel) weave alongside and within guitar and keyboard lines Moment Gained, in particular, allows the ensemble to speak individually and collectively. The strings on the brief Introduction to Without a Voice lend a beautifully classical interlude before Spencer’s trumpet line brings us into the huge and cinematic Without a Voice itself. There’s a lovely piano solo here from Robinson and the strings really come into their own. Here (for Chicca) brings a lovely melodic and rhythmic interplay between the trumpet and piano lines before an engaging Ant Law guitar solo. More strings on Overlap as Spencer casts his classical chops wide and his trumpet moves into solo mode above the quartet. Musicians and producer play with your ears - you definitely need headphones on to get the full effect of this tune. As we come to the end of The Defector, there’s more lovely guitar/trumpet interplay on Not My Country. The groove that eventually comes to life in this brings a perfect, positive end to this engaging album. Check out Henry’s touring plans and ‘The Defector’

Fergus Quill’s seminal, original and ground-breaking outfit - Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band - is releasing ‘The New Atomic’, its third album. If you’ve never seen or heard the simply extraordinary ensemble that is Leeds-based Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band, you just need to know that you have probably never experienced anything like it. With classic swing at its heart, the raw punk overtones are quite deliberately created to sound chaotic. It’s loud, it’s huge and it’s shameless. There’s an un-apologetic political edge and serious musicianship at the core. This is not a group of people who play with a brashness because they don’t know any better. This quasi-chaos is deliberate. I saw this ensemble live at Love Supreme 2025 and then was able to have a chat with Fergus for Harmonious World. The New Atomic’s theme sets the tone, with big ensemble phrases and electronics - it’s film music, but not as you know it. One of my favourite tracks is Do The Right Thing, composed by Nico Widdowson, who I discovered in 2025 in a different ensemble: an incredible pianist and composer. Bob Dylan’s Love Sick is given the ‘imaginary’ treatment by the big band and KONL. ‘Big’ it certainly is as it heads to the finish. Similarly, the closing, traditional song I Shall Not Be Moved takes a tune we know, looks at it from a different angle and then throws the whole band at it. The indomitable Ferg grew up loving big band music and he’s made it his own, with an ever-evolving ensemble of friends. He says: “We play all kinds of music and often don’t feel the need to write it down. We wear what makes us feel good. We don’t like fascists. We play music written by members of the band, often by Fergus but increasingly by Nico Widdowson, Benji Arnold, Amy Clark and others. We also play music by Bob Dylan, Sun Ra and Hank Williams etc. If we play for you, you'll ask us back.” Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band ‘The New Atomic’ is out via Trash City Records on 26 June 2026

Sometimes you think you know an artist then - like Ashley Slater with ‘This is F*****g Nice’ - they prove you wrong. In a good way. Nothing to do with the number seven, Ashley Slater’s Heptet was formed with his friend and Hammond organ player Jan Korinek. This new album is accompanied by several live dates, with a proposed official launch later in the year. As is usual, Ashley sings and plays trombone and he’s also credited as producer and arranger on this latest album. The organ of Jan Korinek is vital to the heptet (and yes, it’s very ‘hep’ and cool) sound. They’re joined by Herman Mehari (trumpet), Aleksy Svidersky (tenor sax, percussion), Osian Roberts (baritone sax) and Oliver Lipenský (drums). The recording was done ‘old school’, with all the musicians in the same room at the same time. And you can tell - this is as far away from over-produced or AI-generated music as is possible. This is F*****g Nice is a grooving and absolutely hep collection of tunes, beautifully arranged and performed: some of them you might not want to play while in the car with small children. Ashley betrays his softer side on the opening track - Can I Sing a Song for You? - and a rare standard - Still Crazy After All These Years. The heptet version of You Don’t Love Me is another winning arrangement. It wouldn’t be an Ashley Slater project without an arrangement of the stupendous Freak Power hit Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out and the heptet version here takes a lovely swing approach which deserves some mainstream radio play around the world. It’s a contender for the A Playlist, for sure. Ashley is a good friend and I first met him in around 1981 (its all a bit of a blur) and we played together briefly in Loose Tubes a few years later. It was great to interview him for Harmonious World episodes in April 2021 and then again in November 2024. Regardless of our friendship, This is F*****g Nice really is. You can find Ashley Slater’s ‘This is F*****g Nice’ on Bandcamp

Roberto Fonseca transports audiences to Cuban music’s heyday with 'La Gran Diversión'. A favourite moment from the show with Roberto Fonseca (c) Tricia Yourkevich Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca brought his La Gran Diversión project to the Barbican, and the audience didn’t want the show to end. Based on Fonseca’s 2023 album, La Gran Diversión evokes Cuba’s musical past, while firmly establishing it in the present. Fonseca (piano, keyboards and voice) was accompanied by Yuri Hernandez (trumpet), Jimmy Jenks (tenor sax), Ariel Vigo (baritone sax), Felipe Cabrera (double bass), Ruly Herrera (drums) and the staggering Andres Coayo (percussion). On stage, this felt like a family and the tributes they paid to musicians who had paved the way for them included not just the music, but also the video backdrop. Throughout the show, video and still images painted a picture that took the whole audience to Cuba of the past and the present. The three horns layered their lines and interacted with each other and Fonseca’s vocals nad piano. The spectacular Mani Mambo demanded audience participation and the entire show took us through big production numbers and more intimate numbers like the duet with Coayo’s bongos. With Roberto Fonseca in November 2024 It was great to be able to chat with Roberto for Harmonious World in November 2024. Immediately after our interview, he was on stage playing solo piano and it was electrifying in its brilliance. His control over tempo and rhythm is exemplary: on both occasions when I’ve seen him perform, he’s shown himself to be a sublime pianist, band leader and performer. Check out the various opportunities around the world to seee Roberto Fonseca perform with different ensembles *** Apologies that there are no live photos for this show - I respected the announcement not to take any

The prodigious Immanuel Wilkins has just released the third volume of his Blue Note trilogy - ‘Live at the Village Vanguard’. And it’s brilliant. Wilkins’ first ever live release features his quartet at the shrine to New York jazz. Taking the stand with his quartet - Micah Thomas (piano), Ryoma Takenaga (bass) and Kweku Sumbry (drums) - he absolutely shines through every note, every bar and every tune. The three albums together constitute some of the best contemporary jazz around and this final volume has an ease that combines with these four musicians at the top of their game. Ring Shout begins with Sumbry’s drums creating a complex groove picked up by piano and bass until Wilkins joins with the melody. There’s something about his alto sax sound that could only come from New York City and there is a brilliant subtlety to every note and inflection. The tune heats up into improvisation as the notes proliferate, but never in a showy way. Composition IX is a more virtuosic display from the opening bars and the quartet roasts through the tune. As the frenetic virtuosity intensifies, the tune evolves into a bebop outpouring that still has more to express until it ends as suddenly as it began. Next up is the smooth DOLLA$, which allows Wilkins’ sax space to expand his solo in a series of beautifully melodic phrases. Features and solos from the other members of the quartet are never far behind and Wilkins eases back in each time. The final track on this trilogy is Put 100 on the Blue Chain and it really is a gorgeous contemporary jazz quartet exploration. Wilkins leaves the audience absolutely satisfied by this closing tune: if, like me, you weren’t there, then this Blue Note release brings this extraordinary performance a little closer. Immanuel Wilkins Quartet: ‘Live At The Village Vanguard’ Vol. 1 was released via Blue Note on March 20, followed by Vol. 2 on April 17 and Vol. 3 on May 15

Hearing award-winning musician Shri performing a solo show at Watford Jazz Junction blew my mind and I was determined to review his latest album. You can read my review of the delightful afternoon gig here, and I hope you can see why I needed to review Singing Bass. Shri’s use of his hand-crafted bass guitar is inventive, with a vast array of electronics, using a bow from time to time and switching to bansuri (Indian flutes) from time to time. On Singing Bass, there is a sense of exploring music and his instruments, as well as self-discovery. Singing Bass opens with Juhu, and already we have the sonorous bass and effects that make this so much more than a solo album. It’ll have you nodding along, or tapping your foot, from the opening bars: the groove is established and then suddenly the bass becomes a solo melodic instrument before the groove returns. Shri’s eclectic cultural background shines through, with elements of jazz, folk and Indian classical music all combining on this and every track. Shri takes us to a Hilltop and again uses electronics and bass melodies to evoke a setting before he then picks up the tabla for Tablaah and overlays percussion above bass groove and melody. When we reach Strong Gentle Wise, the dextrous bow is out and the melody soars in and around the electronics. Throughout Singing Bass, Shri seems to explore so many elements of contemporary classical and popular music from around the world. The final tune is the one that he concluded his set with when I saw him in Watford: Peace uses the bansuri flutes and Shri’s bass to take us on a global desire for harmony. Singing Bass is a joyous, inspired and inspiring album from Shri, who has worked extensively with some of the finest musicians around, including pianist Joanna MacGregor, saxophonist and composer Andy Sheppard, the Britten Sinfonia and the incredible Norwegian pianist and composer, Bugge Wesseltoft. Start with this album and then I would encourage you to explore more of his music. You can find videos of Shri’s playing on his YouTube channel