John Donaldson New CD Release
VICTORIA KINGHAM
Due to be released in August is an album written entirely by pianist John Donaldson, founder of Jazz Hastings. We Were Together, I Forget the Rest, dedicated to his late wife Agatha Coffey, is an absolute joy. Surely one of the most underrated talents on the British jazz scene, Donaldson has assembled a fine octet and produced seven outstanding tracks that showcase both his own compositional prowess and the particular gifts of each artist.
Cover art from We Were Together
Who knew how well the idiosyncratic vocals of Rebeka Edlund and the (now octogenarian, still indomitable) Norma Winstone would combine, for example? And then Rob Luft, clearly one of the UK’s foremost jazz guitarists, employs characteristic technical brilliance and tasteful restraint on each number. Drummer Jeff Ballard has long been universally in demand – listen to his work on Evening Song for example, alongside the joint vocals, and you’ll immediately understand why. Mason’s bass throughout is unobtrusively faultless. Iain Ballamy’s soprano sound, too, is exactly right – on Agatha’s Song, say, which maintains a lilting, piano-led 5/4 riff while the horn blows across it – haunting, free, occasionally ecstatic.
The tunes have style and sensitivity without over-complexity. The careful arrangements, which along with the rhythmic variety, lend novelty to every number, and the audible, almost-palpable, commitment of all the musicians, make this one of the most memorable jazz releases of 2026. While totally new, the album’s sound contains within it all the best of British jazz over the past fifty years. It’s also particularly well produced: balanced without sounding over-slick, carefully dynamic with dramatic interludes, enriched with melodic diversity and overall that elusive thing, swing.
You can find a sample on our website at tinyurl.com/47hb24j7. CD features John Donaldson (composer, piano), Iain Ballamy (sax), Rob Luft (gtr), Tom Mason (bass), Rebecka Edlund, Norma Winstone (vocals), Jeff Ballard (drums), Graeme Flowers (trumpet) Hexagonal Records, releasing August 2026. Production and artwork by Gregory Heath.
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