Another second-album episode! A follow-up not to a trailblazingly exploratory recording (as when we spoke to Heloïse Werner last episode) but to a quietly uplifting one, filled with spirituality and peace. The Poor Clares of Arundel appeared on many people's musical radar back in 2020, when their album Light For The World was released into the mids…

Sam joins Rob Cope to tell us all about his brand-new album. We chat about the music, the influences and the key decisions behind the project. Support the Show.By Rob Cope

Hot on the heels of 2022's Phases comes a second album from acclaimed young singer-composer Heloïse Werner, Close-Ups. Drawing together works by Bingen, Strozzi, the French Baroque composer Julie Pinel, and Errollyn Wallen, it also features compositions by Werner herself - including Les Leçons du Mardi, an acerbic, witty piece biting back against c…

Loren’s began her career as something of a prodigy at age 13, when she won a songwriting contest, gaining national attention. Before she was 19, she did a stint in Nashville, soaking up that city’s ancestry of great American songwriting. She recorded her first album at 20, and from there she was off and running, recording successive albums that gar…

If you've been paying attention to the UK jazz scene over the past decade, the name 'Rob Luft' is bound to have cropped up on your radar at least once or twice. Having first emerged out of NYJO as a teenage guitarist from Sidcup, he went on to study at London's Royal Academy of Music where, upon graduating in 2016, he became the recipient of the Ke…

This year the Berliner Philharmoniker celebrates two anniversaries, with the online Digital Concert Hall turning 15, and the Berliner Philharmoniker label marking its first decade. Rob Cowan spoke to Olaf Maninger, who alongside a busy schedule as principal cellist with the orchestra, is General Manager of Berlin Phil Media GmbH, and has been one o…

Swedish artist, Vidya talks to Tara Minton about her new album, Adi Shakti. Support the Show.By Rob Cope

Professor of the Practice in the Department of Music at Duke University, Anthony Kelley joined the Duke faculty in 2000 after serving as Composer-in-Residence with the Richmond Symphony for three years under a grant from Meet the Composer, Inc. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Duke University, and he earned a Ph.D. in Musical Co…

For our first episode, Barney visits Oslo and speaks to the musical supercouple of John Surman and Karin Krog, as the British saxophonist prepares to go out on tour in support of his latest album Words Unspoken released on ECM. This agreeable pair discuss the early days of their respective careers, from their first meeting at the Montreux Jazz Fest…

Our guest host Martin Hummel interviews Rob Cope about his new album, Gemini which is out now. Rob chats about his influences and inspirations and Martin does a stunning job in the captains chair. Support the Show.By Rob Cope

Music has been an integral part of Martin’s entire life. Since his early days as a musician, Martin staged concerts as a teenager (featuring Elton John), worked in various music clubs and was a DJ/Music Director in professional radio. For 17 years, he was responsible for Pepsi-Cola’s international communications, where he worked with the likes of M…

As a band leader and co-leader he is responsible for much of the output of the groups; Lammas, The Underground Orchestra, Storms / Nocturnes (feat. Joe Locke and Geoffrey Keezer), Acoustic Triangle, the last few years of Bill Bruford’s Earthworks, and The Lighthouse Trio, (feat; Gwilym Simcock and Asaf Sirkis). This final group makes a 20th anniver…

Kirk is a musician and writer based in Portland, as well as being a multi-instrumentalist he makes a music podcast, Strong Songs and produces and co-hosts the Triple Click video game podcast. Today he joins the show to chat to Rob Cope about all things podcasts, jazz as well as a look into music in video games. Support the Show.…

Simon’s latest project features his recently formed U.S. Jazz Octet with three front line horns and vocals. There are special guest appearances by leading U.K. jazz artists, including Tim Garland and Paul Booth and, for the first time, Simon’s arrangements appear alongside his original compositions. Simon explains his thinking behind For the Dreame…

Mark joins the show to chat about his new album, Smiling. Joining the show is Olivia Cuttill as a guest host. Saxophonist and composer Mark Lockheart first came to prominence in the mid 1980s with the influential big band Loose Tubes. In 1992 Mark formed the eclectic co-led quartet Perfect Houseplants, a group that released six albums and collabora…

Violinist Francesca Dego kicks off the Busoni centenary celebrations with her new album, pairing his concerto with that of Brahms - a juxtaposition that might seem strange, until you realise (as Francesca describes) the deep connections between the two works, so much so that Busoni's concerto could even be seen as a direct homage to Brahms's. As we…

Rob Cope chats to Olivia about her brand new album, The Whole Damn Plan, featuring guest host and long time friend of the show, Mark Lockheart. Our 7th birthday celebrated in style with one of the finest musicians of the next generation. Support the Show.By Rob Cope

Swedish jazz vocalist and composer Clara Green talks to Tara Minton about her new record, "Being Green." Support the Show.By Rob Cope

Jamil joins the show today to chat about his new album, Red Kite. He has recorded and collaborated with many artists and recorded four albums of his own music, each of which have received national and international accolades. Jazz UK writes about Jamil: His music is both swinging and sophisticated, Sheriff showing himself to be a constantly inventi…

Pianist Martin James Bartlett first came to many people’s attention in 2014, when he won the BBC Young Musician Award. A Proms debut followed the next year, and a recording contract with Warner Classics not long after. To date, both of Martin’s albums on Warner have been centred around a unifying core concept - recital-recordings with a clear and t…

Born in Detroit, raised in London and now based in Kraków, Alex Roth is a composer, guitarist, producer and interdisciplinary collaborator who over the last decade has earned a reputation as “one of contemporary music’s most innovative and impressive talents” (musicOMH). His diverse body of work encompasses improvised performances; a wide range of …

Today a living legend joins the show! Even for a successful composer and arranger in Hollywood, Gordon Goodwin’s numbers are impressive: A 2006 GRAMMY Award for his Instrumental Arrangement of “Incredits” from the Pixar film The Incredibles, three Emmy Awards, and thirteen GRAMMY nominations. Support the Show.…

As every opera-fan must surely be aware by now, December saw the centenary of Maria Callas’s birth, and Warner Classics marked the occasion by issuing the most comprehensive collection of her recordings ever released – clocking in at a whopping 131 CDs, La Divina offers the chance to experience Callas’s unique qualities in all 74 roles for which au…

Multi-award winner as best jazz vocalist - BBC Jazz Awards 2007 and 2004 and Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2018,alongside nominations from the Jazz FM Awards 2013 and Downbeat Magazine 2017 - Ian Shaw has amassed a number of highly acclaimed internationally released albums and is a popular performer both in the UK and the US. He has been cited, along w…

Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979)[1] is an English jazz-pop singer, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine studio albums, three compilation albums, one live album and twenty-four singles. Since April 2010, he has p…

Although plenty of attention has been lavished on the four hundredth anniversary of the death of William Byrd, his contemporary Thomas Weelkes also died in 1623 - on the 30th of November - and has seen rather less in the way of commemoration. In addition to Weelkes being a composer of great gifts, his reputation also rests in part on his track reco…

Face to Face, Nikki’s new album is out today! As a founder member of the hugely innovative Creative Jazz Orchestra in the early 90s, Nikki Iles came to prominence working with musicians such as Anthony Braxton, Vince Mendoza, Mark Anthony Turnage, Kenny Wheeler and Mike Gibbs. Mike subsequently booked her for one of her first recording dates with g…

The 'Schubert in English' series on Signum Classics sees its fourth instalment this year - following up Winter Journey, Swansong and The Fair Maid of the Mill with a wider-ranging collection of songs, sung by Roderick Williams and Rowan Pierce with Christopher Glynn at the piano. Front and centre, too, are the translations of Jeremy Sams, which at …

Nicky Schrire is a multitalented and inventive British-South African vocalist and composer based in Toronto, Canada. Her work has seen her likened to vocalists Joni Mitchell, Norma Winstone, and Esperanza Spalding with The BostonGlobe’s Jon Garelick noting that “though her approach has earned her comparisons to Gretchen Parlato and Becca Stevens, t…

Mária talks about her creative process and new album, Topol'ana. Support the Show.By Rob Cope

Nils Petter Molvær, Norwegian trumpet player, composer and producer, who takes multiple music styles – jazz, ambient, house, electronic and break beats, as well as elements from hip hop, rock and pop music – and effortlessly reshapes them into unique and dramatic soundscapes of deep intensity. Support the Show.…

As "the classiest brass ensemble in Britain" turns 30, Onyx Brass's trombonist Amos Miller looks back over three decades of brass quintet music-making, with an eye on exploring contemporary repertoire. We discuss the group's latest album, 'The sun is free to flow with the sea', and some of the works featured on it, as well as touching on questions …

Neset made an astonishingly powerful impression when he first emerged onto the European jazz scene as a young saxophonist of protean gifts more than a decade ago. Django Bates, who was a teacher and a significant mentor at the Rhythmic Conservatory in Copenhagen, had Neset in several of his band, and also appeared on Neset’s breakthrough album, Gol…

Greek born with Egyptian roots, electric jazz harpist and composer Maria-Christina Harper is reinventing the sound of the harp in the jazz world. With her anarchic spirit and an interest in exploring what the harp can do, rather than exploring its traditional sounds, she presents her instrument in new and exciting ways. Combining her traditional mu…

Aline Homzy is an award-winning violinist and composer. Originally from Montreal, born to a Québécois mom and an American dad with Eastern-European roots, Aline’s original music reflects her culturally-diverse background. Beyond composing music, Aline is a regular violinist in the studios of Toronto, recording other artists’ original music. Aline i…

Henry Spencer is a multi-award-winning trumpeter, composer and bandleader. Since releasing his album and an EP with a multi-GRAMMY Award Winner in New York (credits include Miles Davis, Prince, Herbie Hancock, Michael Jackson), touring with his band internationally with a growing following, audiences and radio/TV broadcasts, he's now working with t…

A discussion of the OUP's recently-published collection of sacred and secular choral works by Black composers, with its editor Dr Marques Garrett - taking in Vicente Lusitano, Undine Smith Moore, R Nathaniel Dett (Dr Garrett's own particular labour of love) and more. Presto Music All things musical... on your doorstep! Visit our website: www.presto…

Mark joins the show to chat to Rob Cope about his new album, Live at the Village Vanguard. His first live album, and one not to be missed! Support the Show.By Rob Cope & Tara Minton

Kyle joins the show to chat to Rob Cope about his new album, Eastwood Symphonic. Eastwood Symphonic, Kyle Eastwood forthcoming album, is a tribute from a son to his father, legendary actor and director. This family collaboration now becomes an unique album, that will come along a film produced by Arte, a European symphony tour and a unique event at…

Matthew Halsall is a trumpeter, producer and composer who is redefining spiritual jazz for the next generation. Over the course of nine albums, numerous accolades and his taste-making label, Gondwana Records, he’s become a vital voice in UK music with his lithe, limitless blend of jazz and deeply meditative influences that’s in tune with the natura…

Zoe Rahman: https://www.zoerahman.com/ Zoe Rahman’s style is deeply rooted in jazz yet it reflects her classical background, British/Bengali heritage and very broad musical taste. Known for her powerful technique, wide-ranging imagination and exuberant performance, she has become a highly sought-after musician on the international music scene, havi…

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gemini--6#/ An artist interested in multiple musical directions and one who strives for quality and sincerity in his work. His exciting energy has compelled him towards many different musical directions and projects. Considered by his contemporaries as cutting edge, Gray shows promise as an artist that will not on…

If you enjoy this show, you can preorder Rob's new album Gemini at this link below. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gemini--6 Today John joins the show to chat about his incredible career so far. Support the Show.By Rob Cope & Tara Minton

Saxophonists Andy and Suzanne join the show to chat to Rob about their career, their move from Manchester to Berlin and then again to Prague. A journey not to be missed! Support the Show.By Rob Cope & Tara Minton

Arthur Bliss was one of the most important British musicians of his age. Having served with distinction in the Great War, in which he was both injured and gassed, he subsequently became the most performed British composer abroad. He served as Director of Music at the BBC from 1942-44, and was appointed Master of the Queen’s Music in 1953. Bliss was…

Rob Buckland has crafted a career around his primary work as a saxophonist that defies categorisation. Renowned for a highly distinctive, original sound, with real personality and projection, combined with an open-minded approach to repertoire and performance styles, his work takes him around the globe in an astonishing variety of musical settings.…

The great Russian Romantic composer Sergei Rachmaninoff declared that his music was "the product of his temperament, therefore Russian", but he spent the final 26 years of life in exile after fleeing Russia in 1917. While in exile he composed his late masterpieces including the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and the Symphonic Dances, while also pr…

Award-winning New York City jazz pianist and accordionist Ben Rosenblum has been described as “mature beyond his years,” (Sea of Tranquility), an “impressive talent” (All About Jazz), who “caresses [the music] with the reverence it merits” (Downbeat Magazine). Since the release of his debut trio album, Instead (4 stars, Downbeat), Rosenblum has tou…

Earlier this year we saw the release of not one, but two box sets dedicated to recordings by the Minnesota Orchestra under their Hungarian conductor Antal Doráti, recordings made by the Mercury Record Company in the 1950's. To discuss the artistic and sonic legacy of these Mono and Stereo box sets I was privileged to be joined not only by record cr…

Ally Fiola is a Nova Scotian saxophonist and film composer. Her recently recorded original jazz album, Interblaze, features 3x Grammy winning saxophonist Jeff Coffin (Dave Matthews Band, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones), Grammy winning keyboardist Glenn Patscha (Bonnie Raitt), Kurdish guitarist Shvan Kaban, and many top-tier Nova Scotian musicians, i…