The Jazz Podcast

Send us your thoughts! Tara Minton speaks with Lorna Reid about her new album, songwriting and more. Support the show

Send us your thoughts! Fini joins Rob Cope to chat about her 5th studio album, Last Night of the World. Fini Bearman is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist & composer who has built an impressive profile on the UK Jazz scene as both an imaginative and expressive soloist and as a side-woman. She tours regularly across Europe and notable performances include Ronnie Scotts, The Sage Gateshead, The Barbican, The A-Trane (Berlin), Cafe Mercedes Jazz (Valencia), Manzioli (Izola, Slovenia) and Dizzys (Jazz at the Lincoln Center, New York). Festival highlights include the London Jazz Festival, Manchester Jazz Festival, Berlin Jazz Festival, 'Jazz Voices' in Lithuania and ’Voicingers' in Poland. Fini has been supported by the Arts Council & Musicians Benevolent Fund and has been nominated for awards including London Jazz Singer of the Year (Global Music Foundation). Support the show

Send us your thoughts! Daniel Vildosola and John Waugh may come from opposite sides of the Atlantic—one from the sun-scorched deserts of Arizona, the other from the rolling hills of Northumberland, UK—but together, their music finds an effortless middle ground. Drawing from their vastly different environments, they’ve created a sound that feels natural, fusing Americana and jazz with a sense of place and history that’s both personal and expansive. Individually, they’ve cut their teeth on the world stage in pop music—Vildosola, a long- standing member of HÆLOS, producing various artists, and more recently, touring extensively with CMAT. While Waugh has spent over a decade playing with the chart- topping powerhouse, The 1975. Despite their success in the pop world, they now find themselves retreating to intimate venues, where they can explore a more organic, jazz- infused sound, drawing from the folk traditions and stories of their respective homes. Support the show

Send us your thoughts! (In) Love explores the different aspects and essences of love, through a simple yet sophisticated musical language, reflecting the singer and song-writer’s experience gathered during the last years. The original songs which compose this collection include jazz, world music, bossa nova, and also a jazz ballad composed by the music veteran Ivan Lins, with lyrics written by Sofia Hoffmann. Enjoy! Support the show

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Send us your thoughts! Out February 7, 2025, Griot Songs marks the return of the Omar Thomas Large Ensemble after more than a decade, featuring soloists Jason Palmer, Mark Zaleski, Alex Brown, Mark Cocheo and others “Griot Songs firmly plants Omar Thomas in the pantheon of distinguished and exceptional writers. He blurs the lines stylistically in the best of ways with a texturally compelling 'heart and soul' sonic story all his own.” – Grammy-winning drummer/composer Terri Lyne Carrington “Omar Thomas… proves himself a modern-day griot - summoning influences, traditions, and narratives from both past and present, framing them in a manner that is at varying times tender, dramatic, mystical, and joyful - but always absolutely captivating!” – Grammy-nominated composer/bandleader Chuck Owen In West African tradition, the griot is a storyteller, poet and musician whose songs become a repository for a community’s traditions and history. Sixteen years in the making, Griot Songs – the breathtaking third release by the Omar Thomas Large Ensemble – is a distinctly personal and emotionally vibrant take on the role of the modern griot. Through his visionary compositions and arrangements, Omar Thomas spins captivating narratives from his own experiences, inspirations and heritage. It’s been over a decade since the release of the Omar Thomas Large Ensemble’s last album, We Will Know: An LGBT Civil Rights Piece in Four Movements, which Grammy Award-winning drummer and composer Terri Lyne Carrington hailed as a “thought provoking, multi-layered masterpiece.” The big band made its auspicious debut in 2013 with I Am, which entered the iTunes Jazz Charts at #1. But Griot Songs, out February 7, 2025, is the project that Thomas has envisioned since initially forming the ensemble for his graduate composition recital at New England Conservatory in 2008. The earliest versions of three of the pieces on the album date back to that time, with the remainder spanning several years of composing, revising and dreaming. In the meantime, Thomas established himself an acclaimed and in-demand composer for wind ensemble. In 2019, he was awarded the National Bandmasters Association / Revelli Award for his wind composition “Come Sunday,” becoming the first Black composer awarded the honor in the contest’s 42-year history. In addition, he’s a respected educator currently serving as Associate Professor of Composition and Jazz Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Griot Songs marks Thomas’ impassioned return to his roots. “I was ready to reintroduce myself as a big band composer,” he declares. Support the show

Send us your thoughts! The French Impressionists revolutionized the art world by privileging the emotional and spiritual perception of the natural world over its literal reproduction. Hailing from France, harpist Isabelle Olivier has always felt an innate affinity for Impressionism and discovered its echoes within her other artistic passions, primarily the parallel worlds of jazz and classical music. On her vibrant new album, Impressions, Olivier conjures a bold musical landscape from the lush and stirring hues of her diverse influences. Inspired by tenor sax icon John Coltrane’s revered composition “Impressions,” she explores the confluences of jazz and Impressionism with a painter’s instinct for complementary colors, forms and textures. “I think about Impressionism as a combination between elegance, minimalism, spectral notions, feelings and vibes – things that you can feel but you cannot explain,” Olivier describes. “Looking at Impressionist art is like becoming part of nature, to the point where you forget that you’re human. I love this feeling.” Out now in Europe and in the US/Canada on March 21, 2025 via Olivier’s Rewound Echoes imprint, Impressions features a versatile and genre-fluid ensemble that includes the harpist’s sons – pianist and accordionist Tom Olivier-Beuf and electronic musician Raphael Olivier – along with a string quartet (violinists Mathias Naon and Anne Le Pape, violist Cyprien Busolini and cellist Jean-Philippe Feiss) and drummer Baptiste Thiebault. In addition to Olivier’s Impressionism-inspired compositions, the album is interspersed with a number of group improvisations that suggest or were suggested by impressionistic ideas – from the misty, crepuscular “Fog on the Lake” to the stark, pointillist “A Pizzicato Life.” With its many references to Chicago art and artists, Impressions brings together the two metropolises that Olivier calls home – the Windy City and the City of Lights, Chicago and Paris. The album bridges various landmarks for the harpist, including her roots in jazz and classical music, as well as her love for aural and visual art. These seemingly divergent poles have never been separate in her mind – she was introduced to her instrument in the first place by Duchess, the harp-playing cat in Walt Disney’s jazz-inflected 1970 animated film The Aristocats. Not long after finishing her classical studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Lyon, she co-founded the jazz quartet Océan with the Moutin Brothers, well known figures on the French and American jazz scenes. Support the show

Send us your thoughts! Trumpeter and composer Kenny Wheeler (1930–2014) was one of the most enigmatic and influential musicians in recent memory. His instantly recognisable sound was a driving force within every major innovation in modern European jazz during the last half of the 20th century. More importantly, his life provides us with a profound example of the way music can manifest itself in the most unlikely of vessels. As a lonely and shy teenager in Canada, he sought refuge from his difficult home life in the friendships he forged through a mutual love of bebop. After an unexpectedly bold move to London at the age of 22, he struggled with his confidence for years before making his first big break with the John Dankworth Orchestra. Kenny would soon find his voice in a triumvirate of musical communities: straight-ahead jazz, the burgeoning free scene, and in the busy recording studios. Throughout his life, he constantly pursued personal growth while investing in his friends from every corner of the music business who would bring the inimitable beauty, precision, and chaos in his compositions to life. And in an artform where individuality represents the highest level of expression, Kenny was peerless. Indeed, few jazz artists of any era developed such a fingerprint in one area, let alone becoming immediately identifiable as virtuoso instrumentalists, improvisors, and composers. Kenny Wheeler’s life is a compelling – and fundamentally human – story. This book brings together over 130 original interviews and new archival and biographical research on Wheeler’s life and music, chronicling his journey from small town Canada to international acclaim. It is as much a perspective on the history and development of jazz in Britain and Europe as it is the extraordinary tale of this improbable pioneer. Support the show

Send us your thoughts! The members of all-star family jazz band The 3 Cohens — featuring Anat Cohen (clarinet), Avishai Cohen (trumpet) and Yuval Cohen (soprano saxophone) — have always taken time out from their ever-burgeoning careers as soloists and bandleaders to reconvene for music-making together. The siblings developed a deep musical bond growing up in Tel Aviv, with improvising together becoming second nature for them. The 3 Cohens recorded four studio albums over a decade: 2003’s One, 2007’s Braid, 2011’s Family and 2013’s Tightrope, with the last three released by Anzic Records, the indie label founded by Anat with kindred-spirit producer-collaborator Oded Lev-Ari. DownBeat put The 3 Cohens — with Anat the middle child to the elder Yuval and younger Avishai — on the cover of its January 2012 issue, hailing the trio’s “chemistry, alchemy, telepathy.” Ten years on from that milestone, the 3 Cohens reunited for a live collaboration with Germany’s lauded WDR Big Band (a Köln-based ensemble that has been performing jazz on West German Radio since 1957); the program showcased tailormade arrangements by Lev-Ari of compositions by himself and each member of The 3 Cohens, as well as two of their favorite classics: Gerry Mulligan's “Festive Minor” and the Louis Armstrong hit “Tiger Rag.” The performance was recorded for a very special live album, Interaction. Support the show

Send us your thoughts! Jon Irabagon is a Filipino-American saxophonist, composer, and founder of Irabbagast Records.[1] Winner of the 2008 Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition[1] and one of Time Out's "25 essential New York City jazz icons",[2] Irabagon is known for the breadth of his work on a jazz continuum ranging "from postbop to free improvisation, avant country to doom metal".[3] His "extraordinary eclecticism"[4] has led to performances with such diverse artists as Wynton Marsalis,[5] Lou Reed, Evan Parker, Billy Joel, the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Bertha Hope, Herbie Hancock, Conor Oberst,[6] Christian McBride,[7] Mike Pride,[8] Kenny Barron, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, Bill Laswell, Peter Evans,[9] Tyshawn Sorey, Ingrid Laubrock,[10] Ava Mendoza,[11] Mick Barr, and Tom Rainey. Irabagon's many projects as bandleader include a quartet with Luis Perdomo, Yasushi Nakamura, and Rudy Royston,[12] as well as a trio with Mark Helias and Barry Altschul.[13] He is also a member of the Mary Halvorson Quintet, Septet,[14] and Octet;[15] the Dave Douglas Quintet; Support the show

Send us your thoughts! An oft-repeated Chinese proverb states, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Looking back from a vantage point several steps along her own proverbial journey, British composer and pianist Claire Cope came to discover that no matter how daunting a venture may become, it’s always taking that first step that requires the most courage. That realization provided the inspiration behind Every Journey, the gorgeous second album by Cope’s Ensemble C. Every Journey will be released on March 7, 2025, to coincide with International Women’s Day on March 8. The occasion is significant given the fount of inspiration that Cope found in the stories of intrepid women pioneers who undertook their own daring journeys. The books of writer and explorer Jacki Hill-Murphy were key resources – specifically Adventuresses, a compendium of stories of 18th and 19th-century female explorers, and The Extraordinary Tale of Kate Marsden, about a Victorian nurse who trekked across pre-Revolutionary Russia to find a possible cure for leprosy. Musically, the groundbreaking compositions of Maria Schneider provided a luminous north star for Cope’s own writing. Arriving five years after Ensemble C’s acclaimed debut, Small World, Cope’s follow-up represents significant evolutions in both the composer’s life and her musical vision. Where Small World offered Cope’s introductory statement as a composer, a path she arrived at only gradually, Every Journey is a remarkably assured expansion of that mindset. Significantly, Ensemble C has bloomed from a septet to an 11-piece group, allowing for a wealth of new colors and possibilities, of which Cope takes bold and vibrant advantage. The intricate music she’s devised for the ensemble reflects her existence in both the jazz and contemporary classical music realms. Closer to home, Cope became a mother in the interval between albums, a development that can’t help but deepen one’s insight and empathy. Support the show

Send us your thoughts! When Nishla & Tom met in Manchester in 2019, they quickly realised they had made a rare musical connection. Over the years, the pair’s work has blossomed sideways into an array of creative projects, but at the core of their partnership is a deep respect for the history and culture of the music they play, and a preoccupation with drawing out the characters and stories they find there. Last winter, Nishla & Tom played a two-night residency at Manchester’s Low Four Studios in front of a live audience. In the candlelight glow, they recorded a selection of their favourite songs– all approached with musical freeness, and drawn through their joint lens into a curious, winding narrative. The result is a live duo album, tinged with melancholy and their signature playful questioning. Nishla Smith (voice), Tom Harris (piano). "Her voice is exquisite, a symbol of unreachable beauty." The Guardian on Nishla “Simply sublime.” The Reviews Hub on Nishla & Tom Support the show

Send us your thoughts! French and American singer Laura Anglade is a promising storyteller hailing from the idyllic town of Brousse-le-Château, France. She draws inspiration from Carmen McRae, Blossom Dearie, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Shirley Horn, Billie Holiday, Michel Legrand and Barbra Streisand, among others. Laura has made a mark in the music scenes of New York, Paris, London, Toronto and Montreal, collaborating with some of the world's finest musicians, including Peter Bernstein, Jonathan Kreisberg, Ben Paterson, Ira Coleman, Reg Schwager, and Neil Swainson, to name a few. In 2022, she joined singer Melody Gardot across the east and west coasts of the United States and Europe. Laura has performed in renowned venues such as Olympia (Paris), the Royal Festival Hall (London), Town Hall (New York City), the Ace Theatre Hotel (Los Angeles), and the main stage at the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal. Her debut album, ‘I’ve Got Just About Everything’ (Justin Time Records, 2019) was met with praise by critics and fans alike. Her second JUNO-nominated album, ‘Venez Donc Chez Moi’ (Justin Time Records, 2022) is a duo recording featuring Montreal guitarist Sam Kirmayer, with whom she was awarded the “Prix Opus" for Jazz Concert of the Year in 2023. With her latest release, “April in Paris,” Anglade introduces a cappella – the young protagonist is alone, looking forward with both excitement and trepidation to a new life ahead. She inhabits the character in her vocal, breathing life into an experience she can relate to even if she hasn’t lived it exactly. “I’ve been reflecting recently on the parallels between acting and singing,” she explains. “Each art form is an extension of the other. Singing, like acting, is rooted in human expression, in the power of a good story. I never pursued musical theater growing up, but I’ve found that the deeper I get into this music and grow as a person, the more each song feels like performing a role. I visualize each song as if it were a monologue in a film, and somehow shape-shift myself into the part. That led to this album having a distinct beginning, middle and end.” Support the show

Send us your thoughts! Hailed as a “fully committed saxophonist and visionary” by The New Yorker, Ingrid Laubrock has evolved a distinctive, fascinatingly complex and richly layered sonic vocabulary that spans her efforts as an improviser, as leader of her own diverse ensembles or, as in the case of her captivating new album Purposing The Air, as composer and conceptualist for other musicians.Out April 11, 2025, Purposing The Air marks yet another adventurous exploration in a career marked by bold innovations. The album continues Laubrock’s engagement with the voice, following the blend of orchestra and choir on Contemporary Chaos Practices (2018). Purposing the Air is an expansive collection of 60 miniatures setting the words of poet Erica Hunt and her emotionally incisive piece “Mood Librarian – a poem in koan.” Approaching the poem’s succinct two- or three-line fragments as separate compositions, Laubrock tailored each of them for one of four duos: vocalist Fay Victor with cellist Mariel Roberts, vocalist Sara Serpa with pianist Matt Mitchell, vocalist Theo Bleckmann with guitarist Ben Monder, and mezzo-soprano Rachel Calloway with violinist Ari Streisfeld, aka the contemporary classical music ensemble Duo Cortona.While she’s never before so fully integrated words and voice into her work, Laubrock has enjoyed a lifelong appreciation for poetry and literature. Her father was a Goethe scholar, while her mother instilled a love for language in her children from an early age. During the early years of her career in London, Laubrock was a member of the Brazilian-influenced band Nois 4, which featured the Brazilian singer Mônica Vasconcelos as well as vocal contributions by Laubrock herself. Support the show

Send us your thoughts! Swiss pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and American guitarist Mary Halvorson show how virtuosity and joy of playing can be beautifully combined in a duo. Their snapping, over-snapping runs sparkle with the neighboring genres of jazz in particle form. Is this now flamenco, blues, country, noise? Unison voices in a rhythm that has more of Stravinsky or progressive rock than Louis Armstrong or John Coltrane. If there were anyone left who harbored prejudices against female jazz musicians (about which female jazz musicians are always complaining), these two would offer a shimmering quick fix. Support the show

Send us your thoughts! The Grammy-nominated jazz trombonist, songwriter and producer Ebba Åsman has toured the world with jazz and funk bands as well as pop and rap artists. During her career, she has visited everything from sweaty basement rooms to the most renowned concert halls in Europe, including the concert hall in Berlin, Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in London and the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam. Last year she released her second album Be Free, which is a cross-fertilization of jazz and hip-hop – but for herself genre designations are more or less uninteresting. Instead, it is about, as the title also suggests, being allowed to be free in one’s creation and not being limited by either one’s own or others’ perceptions of what jazz music should be. “This album took shape when I felt that I wanted to distance myself from the distractions, expectations and demands of the outside world. When I turned inward, I got closer to my own ideas, my intuition and what I wanted to convey. In a world where the pace is fast and society’s boxes are tight, it can be difficult to feel that you are free. Freeing oneself from that feeling is what I tried to achieve with Be Free, says Ebba herself about the album. ”What catches you is that the music is at an intersection between several musical worlds. Jazz meets modern soul and hip-hop. Atmosphere that meets the earthy. Åsman has created her own well-planned musical intersection.” wrote Lira magazine in its laudatory review. Support the show

Send us your thoughts! Trombone-playing singer-songwriter Aubrey Logan hails from the picturesque surroundings near Seattle, WA. Raised by her two music-educator parents, she began her artistic endeavors as a child singing in theatre and in church, Thoughtful songwriters like Billy Joel & Carole King influenced her early childhood via her singing mother and trumpet-playing father, as well as the soulful musicianship of American horn bands such as Chicago, Earth, Wind, & Fire, Steeley Dan, and more. Things took an intriguing turn when she picked up the trombone at the age of 12, igniting her passion for the jazz tradition. Aubrey possesses a distinct yet truly unique voice, able to take a song from practically any era or genre and really making it her own, through surprising vocal melisma, scatt jazz interludes and a blissful warm tone that expands over her entire catalogue of originals to innovatively-arranged hits. Her accolades are as impressive as they are extensive, from clinching victory in the prestigious Shure Montreux Voice competition in 2009 to securing a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music, where she stands as an alumna. Notably recognized as a top trombone player by Downbeat magazine, Aubrey has graced stages globally, touring alongside renowned artists like Dave Koz & Postmodern Jukebox. Support the show

Send us your thoughts! Guitarist, producer, composer & arranger Greg Sanders is an integral part of the UK’s alternative world & jazz scenes. Greg was a founding member of three influential underground world/jazz/fusion groups that formed studying at London's SOAS University from 2008 - 2011: - alternative afrobeat / post-punk trio Ruby & The Vines with bassist & vocalist Binisa Bonner (Ata Kak) and drummer Ben Assiter (James Blake); - London latin cult legends Wara (with Eliane Correa); - and psychedelic jazz / live hip-hop collective FUR Greg went on to create the jazz / world ensemble Teotima, releasing two critically acclaimed LPs on First Word Records (Counting The Ways, 2013 & Weightless, 2019). As a collaborator, Greg is sought out for his deep musicality and versatility, and has performed and recorded with Senegalese kora master Kadialy Kouyate, Zambian singer-songwriter Namvula, Portuguese singer-songwriter singer Inês Loubet, jazz bass bandleader Jonny Wickham, Brazilian jazz artist BABO MORENO, Brazilian MPB party favourites Big Ben Jorge, as well as Samba Azul, Irini Arabatzi, Hannah Brine and others. From 2016 - 2018, Greg completed an MA in Jazz Performance & Composition at London’s Royal Academy of Music, studying with UK jazz legends including Chris Montague, Mike Walker, Pete Churchill and Nick Smart. Greg works closely with Congolese-Argentinian singer-songwriter Juanita Euka, and co-wrote, produced and arranged Juanita’s debut LP 'Mabanzo' (Strut Records, 2022), and is the musical director for live shows. The trio LP Eight Songs (2022) (with Tom Herbert and George Bird) was Greg's first small-group jazz project as a leader. Today he joins the show to preview his new album, Perfect Strangers. Support the show

Send us your thoughts! John founded Crown Lane with his wife, back in 2007, and has ensured the business stays ahead of changes in the industry. He loves eating out and spending time with his boys and foster daughter. Today he joins the show to tell us about how he set up and sustains the studio as well as all the brilliant events he runs in the community. Support the show

Send us your thoughts! Robin tells us about his new single, I'm Coming Home, which is out now! Support the show