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
Jen Shyu and Jade Tongue: Sounds and Cries of the World (PI61)
JEN SHYU was born in 1978 in Peoria, Illinois, the daughter of a Taiwanese father and a mother from East Timor.
She is a powerfully versatile musician: a multi-instrumentalist, singer, dancer, composer and scholar of the music of her parents’ birthplaces, as well as Korea, Indonesia and China, but she has also found a deep kinship with jazz stalwarts from the saxophonists Anthony Braxton, Steve Coleman, Chris Potter and the late veteran Chicago tenorist Von Freeman, to the brilliant pianist Dave Burrell, and her sound creates a proud and unique amalgam of all these sources and sounds.
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
New releases from Kennedy Administration, Melanie Pain, and Afton Wolfe
CHRIS SEARLE speaks to Ethiopian vocalist SOFIA JERNBERG


