Following on from his 2022 album Heart of Mine, composer, songwriter and pianist Ross Lorraine releases his new collection of songs More From the Heart on Friday 2nd August.

Featuring twelve songs performed by six contrasting vocalists in Joanna Eden, Iain Mackenzie, Noemi Nuti, Irene Serra, Christine Tobin and Charlie Wood with a stellar band of Nicki Iles on piano, Mike Walker on guitar, Laurence Cottle on bass guitar and drummer Ian Thomas, alongside James McMillan on trumpet, flugelhorn and keyboards the album is an eagerly awaited follow up.

“I’ve always loved music from a wide variety of genres – jazz, classical, folk music from all round the world, rock and pop. I was particularly influenced by singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell and James Taylor, and the story-telling style of Jacques Brel and Tom Waits; and my own music has ranged from contemporary-classical, to music for theatre, tango, free improvisation, jazz and everything in between,” says Lorraine. “I came to writing my own songs quite late in life and with Heart Of Mine, I finally found my own voice as a lyricist. But it is only in the collaboration with singers and players that the songs fully come to life. Sometimes I am amazed at how close the interpretations come to my original idea of the song, and sometimes I am pleasantly surprised by a version that I would never have thought of.”

And of his all time top ten albums, Ross says:

  1. The Jimmy Giuffre 3 – Fusion (1961) with Paul Bley and Steve Swallow

I found it among my mother’s records in my early teens (she had great taste!) and discovered a whole new world of musical expression and feeling. Like most of what I love, it’s the interaction between the players that makes it so good. Great compositions, by Giuffre and Paul Bley. I remember the British minimalist composer Howard Skempton telling me how fond of it he was. Lovely numbers like Cry, Want and Jesus Maria… listening back to it today, it’s still just as amazing.

  1. Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane – also 1961

Two geniuses that complement each other perfectly. The precision of both is remarkable, as evidenced on tracks like Trinkle Tinkle and Epistrophy – despite Monk’s reputation among some at the time as a kind of musical joker. I’ve always liked the story of him after a gig, when asked why he looked unhappy, saying “I made the wrong mistakes”. Great playing also from Coleman Hawkins, Ray Copeland, Art Blakey etc.

  1. Nina Simone – Wild Is The Wind (1966)

With Black Is The Color, Four Women, Lilac Wine etc. – nearly all slow ballads (I’ve always been dubious about the fear of programming too many slow sad numbers together – I can’t get enough myself!). I saw Nina Simone at Ronnie’s in the early 80’s – one of life’s great experiences.

  1. Joni Mitchell – Blue (1971)

Is simply one of the best albums of songs ever, so it has to be on my list – but Both Sides Now (2000) is a beautifully arranged and conceived album (and it’s jazz!). She can really do justice to the Great American Songbook tracks, and there is something wonderful about hearing her later, fully mature reflections on Both Sides Now and A Case Of You.

  1. Steve Reich – The ECM Recordings (recorded 1981)

Ok, not jazz – Music For Large Ensemble is probably the jazziest and most accessible track, it has a great exuberance. More elegant and restrained perhaps is Music for 18 Musicians. Reich’s “phased” pieces (one short phrase played at two slightly different speeds so that they gradually get out of phase) are represented here by Violin Phase (other beautifully minimal examples are Clapping Music and Piano Phase).

  1. Rickie Lee Jones – Pop Pop (1991)

Not the greatest voice maybe, but great musicality and storytelling, and she chooses great songs.  Classy playing from Charlie Haden on bass, Joe Henderson sax, Robben Ford on acoustic guitar, and Dino Saluzzi on bandoneon, one of my favourite instruments. I love the sparse production (Jones co-produced with David Was) and the close-mic sound (as on the Jimmy Giuffre album, there are no drums) which really leaves space for her vocal eccentricities. As an early review noted, it’s not for every taste, but I am completely seduced by it. Second Time Around and Dat Dere are among my favourites.

  1. New Ancient Strings (kora duets by Toumani Diabaté and Ballaké Sissoko, 1999)

Also not jazz as such, but displays a staggering level of improvisational ingenuity. The subtle shifts of rhythm, the constant ambiguity of duple/triple meter, and the showmanship of the competing decorations are balanced by a hypnotic sense of time being suspended.

  1. Brad Mehldau – Highway Rider (2010)

Includes beautiful compositions such as Sky Turning Grey and Don’t Be Sad. Mehldau also arranged and orchestrated the music on a large scale. I like his mix of jazz, with some pop, gospel and township influences, and some splashes of dissonance and “out” passages thrown in.

  1. The Gloaming – The Gloaming (2014)

Beautiful singing by Iarla Ó Lionáird (in Gaelic) with fiddle (Martin Hayes) and hardanger fiddle playing (Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh). A combination of Irish tradition, which I have a deep love for, and New York cool. Thomas Bartlett, the pianist/ producer has collaborated with a huge range of interesting artists including Nico Muhly, David Byrne, Rufus Wainwright, Laurie Anderson…

  1. Nikki Iles – Face To Face, with the NDR big band (2023)

I’m not usually a particular fan of big band music, but these are such intelligent arrangements, such good compositions (all by Nikki Iles) with great piano playing, e.g. on Face to Face and Wild Oak. Could also have chosen her work with trio, such as Everything I Love (it is!) from 2004 with Duncan Hopkins and Anthony Michelli, including I Loves You Porgy, a couple of John Taylor tunes, and a couple of Nikki’s. Or Hush – with Rufus Reid & Jeff Williams (2012).