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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Youthful trumpeter Laura Jurd marries jazz with poetry
A powerful up-and-coming musician is winning awards for records crafted with life, light and exuberance, says Chris Searle
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
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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
Laura Jurd: Island Mentality (Chaos Collective CC002), Human Spirit (Chaos Collective CC004)
Blue-Eyed Hawk: Under the Moon (Edition EDN 1054)
Laura Jurd is a powerful young English jazz musician whose work is now bursting out joyously from a number of diverse and surprising settings.
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As part of the 2025 London Jazz Festival Rich Mix offered intriguing sessions titled 'Persian Jazz,' CHRIS SEARLE was there