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
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An epochal album pushing jazz forward
Chris Searle on jazz
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
Miho Hazama
Time River
(Sunnyside SSC 1420)
A young Japanese woman comes to New York, the epicentre of global jazz activity and in a handful of months becomes the maestro of a predominantly male, 14-piece orchestra recording a brace of remarkable albums and establishing a formidable reputation.
“It was definitely a great experience in finding myself in a lot of ways,” she explained, “not only as a composer but also as a person from a classical musical background and as a Japanese woman.”
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