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
Liam Noble
In The Meantime (Basho SRCD 4-2) / Romance Among The Fishes (Basho SRCD13-2) / Brubeck (Basho SRCD27-2) / A Room Somewhere (Basho SRCD48-2)
Hearing the London-born (in 1968) pianist Liam Noble at the 2015 London Jazz Festival in the august surroundings of Sloane Square’s Cadogan Hall, I was struck by a strange throwback to my boyhood.
As he began playing an improvisational beginning to what I was later to recognise as Wouldn’t It Be Lovely? — the song from My Fair Lady that Julie Andrews used to sing in a terrible feigned cockney accent in the fifties.
CHRIS SEARLE recommends a new album featuring Pat Thomas and Ahmed, and marvels at the tempestuous power of a live performance
As part of the 2025 London Jazz Festival Rich Mix offered intriguing sessions titled 'Persian Jazz,' CHRIS SEARLE was there
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


