Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
Roi Boyé and the Gotham Minstrels by Julius Hemphill (Sackville)
JULIUS HEMPHILL’S extraordinary multitracked “audiodrama” was recorded in Toronto in March 1977, but its imaginative setting is a Gothic sonic vision of New York City, full of what Hemphill called “phantasmagorical associations” which provoke “anguish and other human emotions within that range.”
As part of the 2025 London Jazz Festival Rich Mix offered intriguing sessions titled 'Persian Jazz,' CHRIS SEARLE was there
TONY BURKE recommends a new podcast about the legenary Nigerian musician and political activist FELA KUTI
Re-releases from Bobby Wellins/Kenny Wheeler Quintet, Larry Stabbins/Keith Tippet/Louis Moholo-Moholo, and Charles Mingus Quintet
CHRIS SEARLE speaks to saxophonist and retired NHS orthopaedic surgeon ART THEMEN


