Advertise on podcast: The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast

Geoff is in Croydon, South London to meet the accomplished British bandleader, multi-instrumentalist and musical director of the Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra, Pete Long. One record can reroute a whole life, and for Pete it was Glenn Miller’s version of the Joe Garland hit ‘In the Mood’ (1939). Pete follows the sound from swing into the deeper waters of Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie, where big band jazz becomes a lifelong obsession with colour, craft, and joy. Pete talks candidly about choosing saxophone with the firm intention of going pro, adding clarinet through Benny Goodman, and why certain classic charts still spark that boyish excitement when the page turns. We also get into the working reality behind the glamour: leaving a banking job for music college, learning arranging the unromantic way on an Atari, and eventually writing for major bandstands including Jools Holland. If you lead a band or dream of it, you’ll recognise the stress points: depping, last-minute panics, fees, and the quiet truth that good musicians want the gig to succeed as much as you do. Pete shares what actually makes big bands manageable today, from infrastructure to communication. Geoff brings it back to the basics: jazz standards. Pete names his favourites, explains why it helps to call both the start and finish key, and treats us to an impromptu improvisation of the Klenner/Lewis 1930’s standard ‘Just Friends’ on his clarinet - accompanied by the rhythm section of the Quartet app. His best advice for learners is a mindset shift: stop calling it “improvising” if that word makes you freeze, because you’re really editing a vocabulary of licks, chord tones, and shapes you’ve absorbed by listening and transcribing. If you enjoyed this, subscribe, share it with a mate who loves standards, and leave a review so more UK jazz musicians can find the show.  Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne Series Producer: Paul Sissons Production Manager: Martin Sissons The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.

Geoff is backstage at Hadleigh Jazz Club in Suffolk, England with the celebrated jazz singer, guitarist and bandleader Denny Ilett. Denny begins the conversation talking about growing up on a council estate with his trumpet-playing dad, a house full of Louis Armstrong and big band records, and the moment guitar finally cuts through via T-Bone Walker and then Jimi Hendrix. If you care about jazz guitar, swing feel, and where real musical taste comes from, this chat lands right in the gut. We dig into what it means to learn jazz by ear: getting thrown into gigs as a teenager, recognising the small harmonic moves that power countless jazz standards, and trusting “tension and release” more than any rulebook. Denny shares why he prefers singing ideas and letting them come out naturally rather than copying solos note-for-note, and how that approach builds confidence on stage because you stop fearing wrong notes and start listening harder. Denny treats us to an impromptu performance of the 1940’s Mercer/Schertzinger standard ‘Tangerine’ - accompanied by the Quartet app of course.  The touring years are just as gripping. A broken down car in Oxford turns into a weekly residency, then one meeting with New Orleans vocalist Lillian Boutté becomes 150 gigs in the diary and two decades of work across Europe and beyond. We also get into his love of no-PA pub gigs, his favourite chord shapes, and the Electric Lady Big Band - a 16-piece Hendrix project where he writes the charts, sings, and plays guitar. If you enjoyed this, subscribe, share it with a musician friend, and leave a review.  Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne Series Producer: Paul Sissons Production Manager: Martin Sissons The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.

Geoff is in Camden, North London to meet with the legendary jazz pianist, singer/songwriter, producer, author and renowned interviewer Ben Sidran. A $3 school-dance gig. A teenage obsession with Horace Silver. A lifetime of paging through the fake book and letting songs teach you who you are. The conversation quickly turns into what jazz does best: stories, swing, and the kind of hard-won clarity you only get after decades on the bandstand. We talk about how Ben first fell in love with jazz in a place with almost no jazz culture, how Sussex University and the UK scene shaped his ears, and how the music business pulled him from academic plans into sessions and records. From there we get practical and specific about jazz standards, the Great American Songbook, and why the blues still feels like home. Ben even plays four choruses of ‘Blues in F' and explains what “loose” really means when you are trying to make music feel honest. Geoff quizzes Ben about his book ‘Talking Jazz: An Oral History' and his National Public Radio years (the landmark series ‘Jazz Alive’), where he interviewed major jazz artists while much of the industry was looking elsewhere. Ben shares why he avoids over-preparing, how interviewing parallels improvisation, and what it was like to find Miles Davis unusually open and intimate.  We also touch on favourite albums, dream collaborators, the realities of technique for self-taught players, touring in Europe, and his new biography ‘Cool Cat Blues: The Life and Times of Georgie Fame’, a portrait of Soho, Swinging London, and an artist navigating a changing industry. If you care about jazz piano, jazz standards, improvisation, jazz history, or the human side of making a life in music, you’ll find something to take back to your instrument. Subscribe, share the episode with a mate, and leave us a review. Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne Series Producer: Paul Sissons Production Manager: Martin Sissons The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.

Geoff sits down with the wonderful jazz pianist, composer and arranger Tim Lapthorn to trace how his ear led him from pop songs and a battered copy of the Real Book to a deep, personal approach to jazz harmony and improvisation. We talk about everything from recording at Abbey Road, a session with Ron Carter and returning after a long pause, and the chord choices that make a standard suddenly sound alive. He shares what changed when he arrived in London for the Guildhall postgraduate jazz course, how the London jazz scene shaped his comping and voicings, and what it’s like doing hundreds of gigs at Ronnie Scott’s with top rhythm sections night after night. Tim opens up about a long break in recording, depression, family life, and how that experience reshaped his relationship with risk on stage. Then we get practical: reharmonising the Jerome Kern/Otto Harbach 1930’s standard ‘Yesterdays’ (accompanied by Quartet of course), the logic of chord substitutions, and a final reveal of his favourite chord a bold G7 voicing with clashing-sounding tensions that somehow lands beautifully when you hear the internal relationships. When Geoff asks about “playing outside”, Tim’s answer is simple and demanding: one improvised idea should lead naturally to the next if you truly listen while you play. That mindset connects directly to confidence and mental health, too. Tim explains how surviving very low periods changes your perspective on performance, making it easier to take chances because a wrong note is not a disaster. If you care about jazz harmony, piano voicings, improvisation, and learning standards in a real-world way, hit subscribe, share the episode with a musician friend, and leave us a review so more listeners can find the show. Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne Series Producer: Paul Sissons Production Manager: Martin Sissons The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.

A Hammond organ isn’t just an instrument, it’s a moving machine, and you can hear it breathe the moment you sit next to it. Geoff heads to North London to meet the wonderful jazz organist Pete Whittaker in his “organ room” and get properly nerdy about what makes a Hammond C3 feel so alive under the fingers, from the whirr of the tone wheels to the choices that shape a great jazz organ sound. We dig into the details: how jazz organists actually use bass pedals, why a little foot “click” can make left-hand bass punch through, and how you can capture the Leslie rotating speaker magic even when there isn’t a real cabinet in the room. Pete breaks down drawbars in plain English, explains harmonics and “footage”, and shows how a single note can carry the colour of a chord. He treats us to the 1950s Sammy Fain standard ‘Secret Love’ (accompanied by the Quartet app of course), and talks through what changes when there is or isn’t a bass player on the gig. Pete shares the story behind his jazz education: classical training, a great ear, the pull of Jimmy Smith, the modal shock of Larry Young’s album ‘Unity’ (1965), and the very real learning curve of getting thrown into gigs. We end with honest chat about nerves, time feel, favourite venues like Ronnie Scott’s, plus a few quick-fire favourites that make the musician behind the instrument feel close. If you enjoy jazz standards, Hammond organ, organ trio playing, and practical insights you can take to the keyboard, subscribe, share the show with a mate, and leave us a review. Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne Series Producer: Paul Sissons Production Manager: Martin Sissons The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.

John Etheridge has one of those musical lives that only makes sense when you hear it out loud: a British jazz guitar legend and composer who starts with Hank Marvin’s look, gets knocked sideways by Django Reinhardt, then hunts for a sound that can hold both jazz harmony and rock electricity at the same time. Geoff meets John at his place in Hampstead, North London, and they talk through the moments that shaped his playing, from discovering John McLaughlin to learning how to be “the in-between guy” who never quite fits the neat labels but ends up building a voice that bands actually need. We go deep on the practical side of being a working guitarist: tiny amps, the old suspicion around pedals, and how different venues can make your instrument feel either effortless or impossible. From there we jump into jazz standards and the reality of learning tunes before the Real Book era, plus what it’s like to catch up on theory in your thirties while already gigging. If you care about jazz guitar vocabulary, you’ll enjoy John’s take on chord tones versus scales, why bebop is not “just scales”, and how modal thinking changes the way you hear the same notes. John treats us to an impromptu improvisation of the 60’s Benny Golson standard ‘Killer Joe’ - accompanied of course by the Quartet app. There are stories too: playing with Stéphane Grappelli, recording alongside Tony Williams, the love and hate around the Miles Davis album ‘In a Silent Way’ (1969), and the unique challenge of collaborating with classical guitar icon John Williams, where written precision meets improvisation. We finish with quick-fire favourites, a couple of gorgeous chord choices, and John’s philosophy on keeping Soft Machine fresh without turning the music into a museum. If you enjoy jazz standards, British jazz, jazz fusion, guitar tone and real-world improvisation, hit subscribe, share this with a guitarist friend, and leave us a review so more people can find the show. Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne Series Producer: Paul Sissons Production Manager: Martin Sissons The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.

From the first minute of Geoff’s chat with drummer, percussionist, and educator Marc Cecil, we get into the craft behind Latin percussion and the small details that make a groove feel like Brazil rather than a generic “Latin” approximation. Mark traces his musical origin story from seeing Paul McCartney in a small UK theatre as a kid to practising obsessively at school, then landing at Middlesex on a jazz and world music course. A broken bass drum pedal turns into a wild detour: he meets Gary Mann from Remo UK, ends up working the Rhythm Sticks Festival at the Royal Festival Hall, and gets an invitation from the legendary latin percussionist Robin Jones that becomes a long-running education in Cuban and Brazilian rhythm. We talk about Robin’s no-nonsense musical vision, why learning congas, bongos, and timbales together matters, and how real band leading shapes your choices on stage. Mark breaks down what makes a pandeiro special, how tuning and thumb pressure change the sound, why beeswax matters, and how that rolling swing can sit inside a click track without turning robotic. We also chat about building the Quartet jazz play-along apps as a teaching tool that balances inspiration with solid timing. He demonstrates playing along to the 60s standard ‘Só danço samba’. Please subscribe if you want to hear more Quartet podcasts as they land. Search for Quartet on the App Store or find out more at quartetapp.com. Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne Series Producer: Paul Sissons Production Manager: Martin Sissons The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.

Geoff sits down with Swedish jazz guitar virtuoso Ulf Wakenius in a back room at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in London and traces the real chain of events that took him from Scandinavian gigs to recording with Ray Brown and spending 10 years beside Oscar Peterson. Ulf describes the moments that quietly changed everything: touring Europe with Ray Brown, landing in CBS Studios in New York, and realising the tape is rolling after a head arrangement that took minutes…not days. Ulf explains Oscar’s fearless way of keeping the music fresh, sometimes literally dropping the set list and starting something else, and why that kind of pressure makes a band stronger. He breaks down what “the Oscar style” means from the guitar chair: tremendous swing, unstoppable time feel, and a touch that can turn the piano into a roaring big band or a whisper-soft ballad. We get practical about learning jazz standards. We talk Aebersold play-alongs, building a personal repertoire without trying to memorise the entire ocean, and why rhythm changes sits right behind the blues as a core form every jazz musician should embrace. Ulf names a few favourite standards but chooses to play the 50s Leiber/Stoller/Miller standard ‘Bernie’s Tune’ (accompanied by the ever-present Quartet app), and shares how blues language, Miles Davis-style articulation, and saxophone phrasing all feed his improvisation. If you’re practising standards, chasing better swing, or just want a vivid jazz podcast filled with real stories, there’s plenty to steal for your own playing. Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with a musician friend, and leave a review with your favourite standard so we can feature your picks in a future chat. Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne Series Producer: Paul Sissons Production Manager: Martin Sissons The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.

Paul McCartney in the room on your first tune at Ronnie Scott’s would rattle anyone, but pianist and composer Tom Cawley somehow turned moments like that into fuel! Geoff sits down with Tom for a warm, very honest catch-up that traces Tom’s path into the London jazz scene, from a school big band in Lincoln to the Royal Academy of Music, and the sudden realisation of just how much listening, harmony and time feel it takes to become a working musician. We dig into jazz standards as the core training ground for improvisation, especially for rhythm section players. Tom talks comping language, chord voicings, how to create space, and why context matters more than any single lick. He plays two choruses of Charlie Parker’s 1940s standard ‘Confirmation’ on Geoff’s slightly out-of-tune Yamaha, then unpacks what he’s thinking about when he goes “outside”, plus the lasting influence of Phineas Newborn Jr and a hard-won love for Thelonious Monk’s deliberate weirdness. The conversation gets personal too: the value of honest feedback, the highs of playing with Peter Gabriel, touring the ‘Scratch My Back’ project, and the kind of confidence that comes from simply enjoying playing on stage. Tom also shares a frightening stretch of hearing loss and tinnitus that made it hard to hear bass frequencies, and how that changed his relationship with nerves, cues and trust on the bandstand. If you care about jazz piano, improvisation, music education, and the real-life craft behind standards, press play. Subscribe, share this with a musician mate, and leave us a review so more listeners can find the podcast. Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne Series Producer: Paul Sissons Production Manager: Martin Sissons The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.

We're at the Royal Academy of Music in London with the internationally renowned jazz educator, trumpeter and conductor Nick Smart. Geoff talks to Nick about what it takes to run a top jazz course, why small intakes are designed around real working ensembles, and how the best training stays rooted in playing, listening, and learning tunes properly rather than hiding behind theory talk. Jazz standards can feel like a rite of passage Nick says, but they're really something more useful: a shared musical language that lets you walk into a room full of strangers and make honest music fast. We get specific about repertoire and improvisation: why standards are "non-negotiable", how the Academy builds a year-by-year repertoire list, and why a tune like ‘Autumn Leaves’ still earns its place as a first-step standard. We also dig into what to avoid early on: songs that are too fast, too chromatic, or too cramped to let younger players develop their ear and time feel. If you care about jazz practice techniques, jazz education, and learning standards in a way that actually sticks, this conversation is packed with grounded guidance. Geoff widens the conversation to talk about Kenny Wheeler: his humanity, his link to the tradition, and the Royal Academy's connection to his archive of handwritten scores. That leads to ‘The Lost Scores’ project, the long research trail through BBC programme records, the pandemic pause, and the eventual release of Kenny Wheeler Legacy: ‘Some Days Are Better:The Lost Scores’ (Greenleaf Music), complete with a Grammy nomination! We also talk nerves, privilege, craft, and what it means to keep doing the work when you spend so much of your life talking about music instead of playing it. If you enjoyed this, please subscribe, share the episode with a musician friend, and leave us a review so more listeners can find the podcast. Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne Series Producer: Paul Sissons Production Manager: Martin Sissons The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.

Tokyo is the backdrop for a relaxed but deep jazz guitar conversation between host Geoff and Los Angeles-based, world-renowned guitarist and educator Larry Koonse, hours before they play at the Blue Note. We talk about how a life in jazz actually gets built: early listening at home, finding the music through friends, and learning from mentors who shape your sound for decades. Larry explains why jazz standards sit at the centre of his development, not as museum pieces but as the shared language that lets two musicians meet and connect instantly. He also shares a practical approach to building vocabulary by “owning” small two-bar or four-bar phrases, plus a clear way to escape shape-based guitar playing by making simple melodic decisions your ear can grasp. Larry traces his earliest influences to a home filled with Bill Evans, Count Basie and Stan Getz, plus the lived example of his guitarist father touring with George Shearing. Like many players, he truly commits to jazz as a teenager, not through a single “lightbulb” moment but through peers, hanging out, and learning the street-language side of music that doesn’t always fit neatly into formal education. The conversation also maps a working musician’s path: saying yes early, playing banjo in a Dixieland band, ukulele for Hawaiian gigs, restaurant work, and top 40 jobs that build range and resilience. Larry shares formative touring years with Cleo Lane and John Dankworth, including the regret of not reaching out sooner before it was too late, a sobering note about gratitude in a musician’s life. He describes playing with Warne Marsh and occasional gigs with Lee Konitz, where planning is minimal and the lesson is recovery when things go amiss. The episode then lands on an improvisation of Benny Golson’s 1950s standard ‘Whisper Not’ (accompanied by the Quartet app), chosen for its strong bass motion and baroque feel, plus the workout of minor ii-V-I movement. Add talk about his treasured Roger Borys archtop guitar, the play-along realism of the Quartet app, comping space with pianists, and even favourite chords, and you get a grounded guide to jazz guitar, jazz improvisation, and standards that travel well anywhere. If you care about jazz guitar, improvisation, ear training, and learning standards in a way that travels, hit play, then subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave us a review. Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne Series Producer: Paul Sissons Production Manager: Martin Sissons The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.

In this episode, Geoff catches up with the super-talented saxophonist, guitarist, composer and arranger Harry Greene - a recent graduate of the Royal Academy of Music who is already making a big name for himself on the London jazz scene. We are in a back room at The Stables Theatre in Milton Keynes and it is abundantly clear that Harry has a serious work ethic and a wide-angle taste. He takes us right back to the moment Pink Floyd’s ‘Money’ hooked him, not just for the groove, but for the fact it featured both sax and guitar, and he decided he wanted to learn both! From there we explore the real building blocks of a career in in jazz: teachers who unlock vocabulary, the early thrill of hearing Charlie Parker language, and the kind of listening that turns curiosity into fluency. We also get practical about what life looks like after training. Harry talks about living outside London in Suffolk, and why the commute pushes him towards arranging, composing, and music production work alongside gigging. You’ll hear how he balances playing sax and guitar across different bands and genres, including dates with Incognito and the excitement of travel. We zoom in on improvisation with an impromptu performance of  the Leiber/Stoller/Miller 50s standard ‘Bernie’s Tune’ (accompanied by the Quartet app no less), and unpacking the choices, colours, and pathways he reaches for, plus the saxophone voices that shaped him, from Hank Mobley to Dexter Gordon. If you’ve ever argued about charts versus learning by ear, we go there too. Harry shares why reading and clear charts can save hours, how under-preparation is the fastest route to nerves, and what it took to prep off-book horn parts for a recent pop tour with Olly Murs. We finish with a quick-fire run of favourites, a love letter to Ronnie Scott’s, and even a favourite chord. Subscribe for more conversations like this, share it with a musician friend, and leave a review with the one track that changed your musical life. Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne Series Producer: Paul Sissons Production Manager: Martin Sissons The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.

Geoff sits down with American Grammy-winning pianist, composer, arranger and former Jazz Messenger Geoffrey Keezer who is in London for a series of concerts. He begins by describing playing jazz clubs as a teenager, playing piano for Art Blakey at age 18 and touring alongside Benny Golson and Ray Brown while still in his 20s.He shares how he came up through Aebersold play-alongs, the early Real Book, and constant record collecting, sharpening his language through relentless transcription. Transcribing sits at the centre of his method, starting with advice he received as a teenager: “Transcribe, transcribe, transcribe”, beginning with Thelonious Monk. He describes writing on the grand staff so the left hand is not ignored, even when the right hand dominates, because the harmony and rhythm in the accompaniment explain the language. The value is not completing twelve choruses for bragging rights; it is extracting usable information: how a master navigates a ii–V–I, how a line breathes, and how the time sits. Then comes the real practice: transpose ideas into all keys, reshape them, and place them into your own lines so they do not sound like isolated licks. That approach builds jazz vocabulary while protecting originality. The conversation also digs into repertoire choices for recordings and gigs, including the balance between jazz standards and new compositions. His duet work with jazz singer Gillian Margot leans on standards because audiences connect instantly, and because the songwriting is often extraordinary, harmonically and lyrically. He also makes a strong case for covering pop songs when the connection is genuine, pointing to projects that include artists like Peter Gabriel and Alanis Morissette. A useful practice tip emerges here: lyrics matter even for instrumentalists. Knowing what a song is about changes tempo, articulation, and emotional intent, and it can stop you from playing a tragic lyric like a cheerful jam! Geoffrey’s stories are just as rich: Ray Brown stopping a tune to demand “pocket”, Herbie Hancock giving him a private harmony lesson on stage at the Blue Note, and Wayne Shorter walking over to the piano and saying “zero gravity”. He also treats us to a stunning improvisation of the 1950s Benny Golson/Jon Hendricks standard ‘Along Came Betty’ (alongside the Quartet app). Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with a musician friend, and leave a review if it helps your playing. Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne Series Producer: Paul Sissons Production Manager: Martin Sissons The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.

Geoff has travelled to Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in London’s Soho district to meet with the legendary Brazilian jazz guitarist Romero Lubambo. In a candid interview between his run of shows with Dianne Reeves, Romero contemplates what changes when there’s no band behind you: you become the time, the bass, the harmony, the dynamics, and the safety net, all while keeping the song clear and the singer supported. We dig into the craft of playing slowly through the lens of Antônio Carlos Jobim, where silence becomes part of the arrangement and every note has consequences. Romero shares how his Brazilian upbringing shaped his ears, how teenage dance gigs forced him to learn many styles fast, and how classical guitar technique helped him refine hand position and tone. If you’re into jazz guitar, bossa nova, chord melody, comping, and building a beautiful sound, you’ll find plenty to steal for your own practice. Romero also talks about learning jazz standards from recordings, transcribing Wes Montgomery, avoiding “boxy” scale habits, and what it means to develop a personal musical identity in an age of endless online information. He treats us to an impromptu improvisation of the 1930s standard ‘Alone Together’…accompanied by the Quartet app of course.  Along the way we hear stories of playing with legends like Jobim, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny and the American cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and the mindset shift he got from producer George Duke: you’re hired to be yourself. If you enjoyed this conversation, subscribe for more, share it with a musician friend, and leave a review so more jazz players can find the show. Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne Series Producer: Paul Sissons Production Manager: Martin Sissons The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.

Geoff is in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire to meet with the renowned British jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader Tim Garland for a wide-ranging conversation on how a real musical voice is built over decades…not weeks. We start with the spark: ECM Records vinyl, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea and the late Ralph Towner, plus the pull of funk and rhythm that hits you in the chest. Tim breaks down how he learned jazz improvisation by writing small fragments, moving them through keys, and then consciously letting that material go so it doesn’t become imitation. We also dig into composition, jazz harmony, and contemporary classical influences, including how time feel, note length, and cut-offs can change everything you think you know about swing and groove.    Tim tells the near-impossible story of how his music reached Chick, what “Chick boot camp” felt like on stage, and why conversational playing matters more than licks. Tim treats us to an improvisation of Cole Porter’s 50s standard “All Of You” (accompanied by the Quartet app of course), and discusses Jamey Aebersold play-alongs, favourite records, career highs, nerves, and the harmonic rabbit holes behind a favourite chord. Plus, a nod to his latest project featuring the rare mezzo saxophone with the American jazz pianist Geoffrey Keezer. If you enjoy jazz standards, saxophone craft, and honest stories from the bandstand, subscribe, share the episode, and leave us a review so more listeners can find the show. Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne Series Producer: Paul Sissons Production Manager: Martin Sissons The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.