The first Cosmic Jazz show of 2026 includes sounds that are not always familiar to the show. It starts, though, with some tough, new UK music before entering almost ambient territory. The final section is noisier. Here there is definitely an opportunity to dance, so be prepared for a journey with some changing moods.
- Ruby Rushton – Lighthouse from Legacy!
23 November 2025’s CJ included a track from the 2018 Ruby Rushton album Ironside and we noted that Legacy! had just been released. So we start this show with a track from that latest album, their fifth. The band is led by sax and flute player Edward Cawthorne – aka Tenderlonius – with Nick Walters on trumpet and flugelhorn, Aidan Shepherd on piano, Fender Rhodes and synths and Tim Carnegie on drums, with all band members at some stage making a percussion contribution. All Ruby Rushton records are released on their own 22a independent record label. Oli Reeves in his notes to the vinyl album release states that This is a band still evolving. Trademark catchy riffs and heavy grooves are still there but are now heightened by a level of maturity and a sense of belonging that hadn’t been encountered previously. So are Ruby Rushton a band that deserves more recognition amidst the latest UK jazz revival of the last few years? I think so.
2. Wojtek Mazolewski – La Mar from Solo
Polish bassist, composer and bandleader Wojtek Mazolewski released his new album Solo on 5 December, 2025. This takes us into what Derek is calling the ambient phase of the show, but an ambience not of the laid-back easy listening kind, but more of a deep, spiritual, meditative experience. Mazolewski has gained recognition and praise way beyond his native Poland, including from the UK in Jazzwise monthly magazine. Solo is stripped back to essentials with Mazolewski’s double bass very much to the fore but harp, flute and delicate percussion is woven into the tunes. La Mar begins with a sense of foreboding as the other instruments swirl around the double bass and the music seems to carry you through endless spaces and into unknown regions, with the constant twangs from the double bass offering some reassurance. This is certainly contemporary jazz, but with a decidely European feel.
3. Nala Sinephro – Continuum 2 from Endlessness
We are now definitely into ambient, orchestral, electronic jazz territory. Nala Sinephro is a Belgian-Caribbean composer, producer and musician living in London. The album Endlessness is her second release and another record from an independent label – this time UK-based Warp Records. Continuum 2 is a beautiful tune of meditative, celestial sounds which provides the perfect background to the awe-inspiring sky with a radiant pink setting sun surrounded by the encircling dark blue gloom of night observed from Derek’s window as he writes. This tune includes musicians well known to us at Cosmic Jazz – Nubya Garcia on saxophone and Sheila Maurice-Grey on flugelhorn. Another familiar name – James Mollison plays sax on one of the other album tracks. Just one annoyance to mention – the vinyl issue has only three recorded sides.
4. Yazz Ahmed – She Stands on the Shore from A Paradise in the Hold
The album A Paradise in the Hold, released in February 2025, is the fourth release from British-Bahrani trumpeter Yazz Ahmed, who lived in her homeland until the age of nine. Now a well-established musician and although already an Ivor Novello award-winning composer, many reviews and comments have identified this album as her strongest to date. The album explores her dual heritage with Ahmed noting A thread in my work has been searching for, establishing and, now, finally embracing and celebrating my cultural identity – and it really comes across in this album, merging traditional Bahraini sounds and stories with jazz, There is a long list of musical collaborators and this is the first time she has written for vocals – Natascha Atlas is the vocalist. The music is transporting and uplifting – Ahmed says There’s so much beauty in Bahraini music. I hope this album gives people a flavour of how vibrant its culture is. And she has
5. Luna Horns – Santa Catarina from Afro-Space Hotel
It’s time to change the mood. This comes care of a crazy, chaotic ensemble from Norway called Luna Horns and good they are too. Our contact here is British soprano saxophone player Tim Lowerson, a founder band member and Oslo resident, here joined by Norwegian musicians who contribute alto saxophone, trombone, bass and drums. The music is energetic (quite an understatement), unpredictable and fun. The music can sound like a big band one minute and then stripped back down the next – and all this from just five musicians. Grab Afro-Space Hotel via Bandcamp here. We’ve previously described Luna Horns as having a touch of Sun Ra, a bit of Lioyd McNeill and a feeling of Mulatu Astatke. I think we got that right – but the music has it’s own unique signature too. Check it out!
6. Lettuce – Cook from Cook
More Cosmic Jazz regulars return to the show. Lettuce provides a funky end to the show with the title track from their album released in December 2025. Funk, soul, jazz, hip-hop and more are all there in the band’s music. Last year saw them on an extensive European tour ending with four sold-out shows at Ronnie Scott’s in London. They have also toured with rap artist Wu-Tang Clan and reggae artist Ziggy Marley, which illustrates something about the width of their appeal. Groovy, soulful and fresh is how they have been described. We can settle for that. Get your dancing shoes on now!
7. George Benson – The Ghetto feat. Joe Sample (12″ single)
Don’t put those dancing shoes away just yet. The show ends with an irresistible mover that builds and builds and builds with percussive, soulful, Latin, house and jazzy grooves. It is a return to earlier shows where we end with a genre-stretching number to send us on our way with a spring in our step. It also fits in as Derek is trying to go through his record collection to re-visit past favourites and this 12″ is a recent delight. It is, incidentally, the third vinyl number on the show. This is George Benson’s re-working of Donny Hathaway’s classic The Ghetto with production from the Masters At Work team. It features Joe Sample who provides some cool keyboard sounds from the keyboards while George Benson leads with distinct but not over-reaching guitar and soulful vocals. Other distinguished contributors include Carlos Henriquez on bass, Lusito Quintero on percussion and Roy Ayers as one of the background vocalists.
Neil is listening to…
- Marcus Belgrave – Space Odyssey
- Ian Carr – Belladonna
- Synchro Jazz Live – For Guzi
- New Jazz Underground – The Kendrick Lamarr Suite
- Grover Washington Jr. – Knucklehead