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
Latest editorial
Chris Searle on Jazz: Passionate percussion
Marilyn Mazur’s drumming beats out her path to the constellation of jazz legends
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
Small Labyrinths, Elixir and Celestial Circle
Marilyn Mazur
(ECM)
5/5
The phenomenal percussionist Marilyn Mazur has the drums of the world in her blood. She was born in Brooklyn of African-American and Polish parentage in 1955 and came to live in Denmark when she was six.
Mazur began a musical life as a dancer, but burned to the drums in 1974, eventually gaining a degree in percussion from the Royal Danish Academy of Music. She drummed with prime Danish jazz musicians such as guitarist Pierre Doerge and his New Jungle Orchestra, bassist Niels-Henning Oersted Pedersen and tenorist John Tchicai, and began a 14-year touring partnership with the Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek in 1985.
Similar stories
CHRIS SEARLE recommends a new album featuring Pat Thomas and Ahmed, and marvels at the tempestuous power of a live performance
New releases by Porridge Radio, The Cribs, and Bjorn Meyer
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