It is the quality of writing and the collective interplay that lifts it from the page which leaves the biggest impression, making this release such an unqualified success
Hexagonal Records: HRCD 102
John Donaldson (piano); Norma Winstone (voice); Rebecka Edlund (voice); Rob Luft (guitar); Tom Mason (bass); Jeff Ballard (drums); Iain Ballamy (saxophones); Graeme Flowers (trumpet)
Recorded 3/4 September 2025 at Real World Studios, Box, UK
John Donaldson’s latest release plays out as a suite of great subtlety and exquisite proportions that leaves you breathless with emotion. We Were Together, I Forget The Rest is a very personal project, dedicated to the memory of Donaldson’s late wife, Agatha Coffey, and played with an outstanding group of musicians, who are also friends, each linked to different episodes of his long career to date.
A line-up that includes Norma Winstone, Rebecka Edlund, Rob Luft, Tom Mason, Jeff Ballard, Iain Ballamy and Graeme Flowers is sure to grab attention, and rightfully so as they are all on top form here. But it is the quality of writing and the collective interplay that lifts it from the page which leaves the biggest impression, making this release such an unqualified success.
This is an album strong in melody and rich in detailed textures from which the soloists emerge, working into and out of focus, before seamlessly blending back in. The use of wordless vocals across the album instils a dreamlike quality that heightens the emotional impact. And there is a natural flow to it all that carries through the work, taking you with it. The album might not be presented as a suite, but it has that sense, where everything feels part of a greater whole.
Wordless vocals announce the opener ‘Prayer for Tomorrow’, drawing you close in before a quickening rhythm builds and a strong theme emerges, developed first by Ballamy and Luft, then by Donaldson’s own solo of intricacy and delight. ‘Agatha’s Song’ is a beautiful and significant piece. It sets off at a gently rolling pace with Edland’s vocals and Winstone’s backing ringing true and the group building volume and complexity, before spiralling upwards with great feeling that will take your heart with it.
‘Chanterelle’ grows on and over you, with Donaldson sketching delicate lines in and around Edlund’s poetic delivery, which twists and soars. ‘They Danced’ is all about the wordless vocals where Winstone and Edlund combine to spine-tingling effect with Donaldson’s piano and Luft’s guitar amid surging bursts of energy and magic.
‘Evening Song’ starts simply, but there is a growing sense of back-building momentum, before setting loose warm waves of sound with Luft and Ballamy raising clouds of emotion. Winstone provided lyrics for ‘Into the Night’ and her romantic, heart-felt vocals bookend the piece around Donaldson’s far-reaching solo that is developed by Luft’s rippling guitar. The poignant ’New Dawn’ brings the work to a conclusion on a contemplative note.
As an experience, it is impossible not to get caught up in the emotional sweep of it all. But then why would you not want to be immersed in this celebration of love and life? Recommended.
