The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast

Episódios

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  Episode 52. Denny Ilett (Guitar) - 'Tangerine' 14.09.2026 34min

  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 d...
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  Episode 51. Ben Sidran (Piano) - 'Blues in F' 04.09.2026 41min

  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 i...
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  Episode 50. Tim Lapthorn (Piano) - 'Yesterdays' 30.05.2026 34min

  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 cou...
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  Episode 49. Pete Whittaker (Organ) - 'Secret Love' 23.05.2026 31min

  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 ma...
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  Episode 48. John Etheridge (Guitar) - 'Killer Joe' 15.05.2026 48min

  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...
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  Episode 47. Marc Cecil (Percussion) - 'Só Danço Samba' 08.05.2026 35min

  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...
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  Episode 46. Ulf Wakenius (Guitar) - 'Bernie's Tune' 02.05.2026 31min

  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’...
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  Episode 45. Tom Cawley (Piano) - 'Confirmation' 25.04.2026 41min

  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 tra...
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  Episode 44. Nick Smart (Trumpet) - 'Who's Standing In My Corner' 17.04.2026 47min

  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 ...
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  Episode 43. Larry Koonse (Guitar) - 'Whisper Not' 10.04.2026 37min

  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 languag...
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  Episode 42. Harry Greene (Saxophone) - 'Bernie's Tune' 06.04.2026 44min

  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 fac...
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  Episode 41. Geoffrey Keezer (Piano) - 'Along Came Betty' 29.03.2026 48min

  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. Tra...
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  Episode 40. Romero Lubambo (Guitar) - 'Alone Together' 20.03.2026 53min

  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, whe...
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  Episode 39. Tim Garland (Saxophone) - 'All Of You' 14.03.2026 46min

  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 con...
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  Episode 38. Christmas Special - Ian Shaw & Trudy Kerr 13.12.2025 26min

  Geoff closes the year with a Christmas ‘session’ that blends memory, humour, and unapologetic swing, featuring the brilliant Ian Shaw and the incomparable Trudy Kerr. From the first count-in you can feel the band's pocket and the playful way we shape tradition: ‘God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen’ settles into a medium swing, ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ nods to Horace Silver, ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’ stretches on a tasty vamp, and ‘Deck the Halls’ dances with a Latin pulse. Between takes we wand...
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  Episode 37. Norma Winstone (Vocals) - 'Joy Spring' 01.12.2025 41min

  Geoff is in the coastal town of Deal in Kent to meet with the wonderful jazz singer and lyricist Norma Winstone. A childhood steeped in radio, a cinema crush on Lena Horne, and a record collection that swung from Ella and Louis to Sinatra’s ‘Only The Lonely’—Norma charts how a voice finds its own gravity. We talk about the hinge moments that redirected the road: pub sit‑ins that led to John Taylor, the New Jazz Orchestra and Michael Garrick inviting the voice into instrumental roles, and Kenn...
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  Episode 36. Charlie Wood (Vocals) - 'Bye Bye Blackbird' 21.11.2025 41min

  Geoff is back in Bedford, England to sit down with the highly-acclaimed American singer, songwriter and keyboardist Charlie Wood. A voice steeped in Memphis and refined in London, Charlie Wood’s conversation moves from Beale Street grind to big-band elegance. We start with origins: a home filled with Charlie Parker records, classical lessons, and the kind of eclectic listening that makes Johnny Cash, B.B. King, and Debussy feel like neighbours. That early mix shaped a musician who treats song...
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  Episode 35. Jacqui Dankworth (Vocals) - 'The Man I Love' 13.11.2025 37min

  This week Geoff is in Bedford, England to meet with one of the most highly regarded British jazz singers Jacqui Dankworth MBE – daughter of singer Cleo Laine and musician John Dankworth. A song can carry a family. This episode begins with Stephen Sondheim and a daughter finding strength after losing her mother, the incomparable Cleo Laine. From the first quiet days after the memorial to the bright lights of new stages, we trace an artist's path through grief, discipline, and the brave work of...
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  Episode 34. Dave Green (Bass) - 'Autumn Leaves' 05.11.2025 43min

  Geoff is in Ruislip, West London at the home of the legendary jazz bassist Dave Green. A soft case in an aircraft hold, a school-grade rental at a major festival, and the quiet conviction that your sound should survive all of it—Dave takes us through a bassist's life built on time, touch, and taste. From tea chest beginnings with next‑door neighbour Charlie Watts, to month-long residencies at Ronnie Scott's, Dave maps the long road from village halls to the world's jazz stages with humour and...
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  Episode 33. Anthony Kerr (Vibraphone) - 'Bolivia' 28.10.2025 31min

  Geoff is in the Hertfordshire town of Watford to chat with the wonderful British jazz vibraphone player Anthony Kerr…digging into practice, reading, and why space shapes sound. A trumpet felt like the wrong clothes. Drums were closer. Then Anthony hit a vibraphone at the Belfast School of Music and everything snapped into place. That moment of fit carries through this conversation as we trace his route from school band standards to New York's proving grounds and back to London's 606 Club with...