Women in Jazz Media: The Podcasts Women In Jazz Media

Welcome to the latest episode of ‘In Conversation With’ with host and producer Hannah Horton, with our theme tune Surfing Thermals from our host, Hannah too! In this episode, host Hannah Horton welcomes Wendy Kirkland

Our podcasts are named as one of the Top 15 Women In Media Podcasts on the web by Feedspot and you can also find our podcasts at number 9 in the top 60 Best Jazz Podcasts in FeedSpot!

Pianist and singer Wendy Kirkland has been a mainstay of the UK Jazz scene since the late noughties, but it was her first album, Piano Divas, released in 2017 that began her ascent to wider recognition as a “Singing Pianist”, as dubbed by Jazz Journal. The ability to sing at the same
time as comping and craft solos on the piano or unison piano/voice scat lines is her forte, with influences such as Diana Krall, Eliane Elias and Dena DeRose. Further accolades were given for her 2019 release The Music’s
On Me, dubbed “a huge leap forward” by Jazz Views. Both albums prompted ACE funded tours all over the UK and constant radio airplay ever since.

During lockdown from March 2020, Wendy and guitarist/bassist husband Pat Sprakes entertained with a
daily dose of Latin American music on Facebook which they entitled Latin Lockdowns. After 86 such performances they decided it was time to move on
to other musical endeavours, but were amazed and pleased to receive daily messages from people who described the videos in such terms as “a ray of
sunshine” in their lockdown situations.

Wendy will be performing at our special event on June 27th to celebrate jazz vocalists and women in the jazz industry to raise money for renowned jazz vocalist Anita Wardell. Five outstanding vocalists from the British jazz scene, Vimala Rowe, Lily Dior, Esther Bennett, Diana Torti and Fiona Ross will bring their unique artistry to a range of jazz standards in an evening full of jazz tradition and elegant atmosphere, all accompanied by Wendy!. Women in Jazz Media presents: Jazz Sisters: A celebration of vocal jazz

Wendy’s musical career began at age 10, when she started taking piano lessons. She won a scholarship to have all her
lessons paid for by Derbyshire Music, and continued to take her ABRSM piano grades. Switching to jazz in her late teens, Wendy continued her playing career as a dance class pianist, accompanist to singers and as a keyboardist in club bands. After being persuaded to sing by a great friend and guitarist, Bill McCreath, Wendy learned to reach people who are perhaps turned off by instrumental jazz, as she learnt to communicate with the audience through the songs.


Wendy’s voice has been likened to Blossom Dearie with hints of Diana Krall.

Wendy’s links here

Hannah Horton is a British Female Jazz Saxophonist whose music is rooted in jazz, folk and funk. She has performed with many great jazz artists including Ian Shaw, Amy Winehouse, John Etheridge, Tina May, Georgia Mancio, Polly Gibbons, Natalie Williams, Esther Bennett and Irene Serra; and at venues including Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express Dean St, The 606, The Pheasantry, Love
Supreme Jazz Festival, Royal Festival Hall and The Barbican. She has also toured in Europe and USA with her own and other groups. Her latest album has been going down a storm across the world. “Hannah makes the big beast of a baritone sax sound like an angel” – Ian Shaw. Hannah Horton website

Relaunching our podcast series 'Kicking Down the Door' in partnership Céline Peterson and Black Lives in Music with host Mary Sho, platforming inspirational black women in the Music industry and featuring music from Mary's 'Woman Rising' album. And kicking down the door to start us off, we are thrilled to welcome our first guest the inspirational singer/songwriter/producer and legend China Moses

Singer, songwriter and producer China Moses evolves her artistry in truth. Defiantly real, her music resists what so many labels and critics desire: category. She captivates listeners with her deep pocket, sensitivity and wit, drawing inspiration from endless styles in the expansive lineage of Black American music.

Frank and fearless, China’s songs document fleeting emotional states and extended narratives, often leaning into self-reflection both in lyric and phrasing. Her voice is a satin ribbon wrapped around a crackling flame. Listeners fortunate to observe her in live performance know the depth of her song interpretation. In a moment she can revolve a world.

Click here for China Moses website

Mary Sho, a singer and songwriter hailing from South London with a worldwide sound which transcends time and space, offering a home to lovers of authentic, live sounds. Sho’s sound drops you into the late 70’s and early 80’s with tinges of contemporary soul infused with funk origins, creating sounds similar to if Lizzo met Solange
met Childish Gambino met Sly and The Family Stone with Thundercat on additional bass!

Armed with live instrumentation and striking, self-directed and self styled visuals, Sho’s spacey vocals float
over bass-heavy, funk-soul sounds. while highlighting the experiences of Black women and owning the power of her
identity, mind, body and soul. Mary Sho has been featured on BBC London Radio multiple times and has recently performed at Brixton House (Soho Friends) ans Cafe KOKO. This year she was one of the recipients of Women in Jazz Media 2023 and has just released her debut Album
titled ‘WOMAN RISING’ in the world.

Mary Sho links her

Welcome to our latest episode of ‘In Conversation With’ with host and producer Hannah Horton, with our theme tune Surfing Thermals from our host, Hannah too! In this episode, host Hannah Horton welcomes Lily Dior!

Our podcasts are named as one of the Top 15 Women In Media Podcasts on the web by Feedspot and you can also find our podcasts at number 9 in the top 60 Best Jazz Podcasts in FeedSpot!

Lily was born in Australia where her debut album ‘Invitation’ received universal acclaim and put her firmly on the map, performing globally at major festivals and venues in New York, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong and London, now her home. She has shared the stage with world-class musicians including Oscar Castro Neves, Dale Barlow and James Morrison, made numerous TV and Radio appearances and hosted her own show on Sydney’s premier jazz station ‘Eastside
Radio’ for over ten years. 

Lily will be performing at our special event on June 27th
to celebrate jazz vocalists and women in the jazz industry to raise money for renowned jazz vocalist Anita Wardell. Five outstanding vocalists from the British jazz scene, Vimala Rowe, Lily Dior, Esther Bennett, Diana Torti and
Fiona Ross will bring their unique artistry to a range of jazz standards in an evening full of jazz tradition and elegant atmosphere, accompanied by one of the UK’s most loved pianists, Wendy Kirkland. Women in Jazz Media presents: Jazz Sisters: A celebration of vocal jazz

“Jazz and soul coexist in Lily Dior’s vocal style ... sassy, soulful, passionate and strong.” - Rhythms Magazine

Lily links here

Hannah Horton is a British Female Jazz Saxophonist whose music is rooted in jazz, folk and funk. She has performed with many great jazz artists including Ian Shaw, Amy Winehouse, John Etheridge, Tina May, Georgia Mancio, Polly Gibbons, Natalie Williams, Esther Bennett and Irene Serra; and at venues including Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express Dean St, The 606, The Pheasantry, Love
Supreme Jazz Festival, Royal Festival Hall and The Barbican. She has also toured in Europe and USA with her own and other groups. Her latest album has been going down a storm across the world. “Hannah makes the big beast of a baritone sax sound like an angel” – Ian Shaw. Hannah Horton website

Welcome to the next episode of the Women in Jazz Media podcast series’ The Notes Between’ with Lara Eidi. Conversations exploring everything behind and about the world of songwriting! Our theme music ‘Breathe Love’ is from Lara Eidi herself available here

In this episode, Lara talks to songwriter Laila Biali



Multi award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist and CBC Music national radio host Laila Biali has headlined festivals and venues spanning five continents from New York City's Carnegie Hall to Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts, and supported international icon Sting. Her JUNO-nominated 2023 album, Your Requests, featured a stellar cast of guests and received a 4.5 star rave review in All About Jazz. Her previous release, Out of Dust, was also JUNO nominated (in 2021) and won Laila spots on “Best Album” lists around the globe. In 2020, Laila was honoured by SOCAN Music with the Hagood Hardy Award for Excellence in Songwriting. The previous year, Laila’s eponymous release won her a JUNO for "Vocal Jazz Album of the Year” and top prize at the Canadian Songwriting Competition in the Jazz category. Laila was the youngest-ever double winner at Canada’s National Jazz Awards when she was named "SOCAN Composer of the Year" and "Keyboardist of the Year”, and she received her first JUNO nomination for Tracing Light in 2011. When Laila isn’t on stage or in the studio, she’s busy hosting CBC Music's national radio show, Saturday Night Jazz – a weekly program broadcast to millions of listeners across Canada. And while she continues to earn high honours in the jazz world, Laila’s
signature sound transcends genre – "masterfully mixes jazz and pop, bringing virtuosity and unpredictability to songs that are concise and catchy" (Washington Post). This coming November, she will release her brand new Wintersongs album, embarking on a cross-country Canadian tour with a virtuosic ensemble that includes Jane Bunnett, members of the Venuti String Quartet,
George Koller, Ben Wittman, the dancers Andrea Nann and Sara Prosper, as well as local youth choirs.

 "Biali's voice – spanning registers – is pure and warm. She's also fearless on piano and, above else, in her imagination.” – DownBeat Magazine



Athens born to Lebanese Canadian parents, Lara Eidi is an artist that thrives on being different. As an independent artist, singer and multi- instrumentalist, she has carved a path for herself that continuously aimed at reshaping and
developing her voice as a storyteller. An accomplished and reputable singer-songwriter, pianist, recording artist and jazz- folk vocalist of her own accord based in London and Athens. Her music has gained her critical acclaim as a genre bending artist (BBC Artist, 2020), described as “a
singer with true gift of a voice, a kind soul, and a captivating presence.” (Jazz UK). At the heart of her being as a multi-disciplinary artist, she is sought after as a composer for vocal film scores, writes as a freelance music journalist, and is in demand as a creative workshop leader. Her music seeks to elevate and heal, and as a result, she creates genre- defying songs with a great emphasis on story telling. Her latest album ‘Sun’, her long awaited debut album, is all about pulling the threads of her folk, acoustic rock and jazz-classical upbringing to her message of hope, empowerment, and freedom. As a soloist, her recent debut performance at the infamous Royal Albert Hall, singing select pieces from Greece and Lebanon form the MedievalByzantine Traditions sees Lara engaging on a series of select and innovative performances with the SAUDHA Indian Classical Music Assocation. 

Lara Eidi website

Welcome to the next episode of our podcast series’ The Notes Between’ with Lara Eidi. Conversations exploring everything behind and about the world of songwriting! Our theme music ‘Breathe Love’ is from Lara Eidi
herself available here

In this episode, Lara talks to songwriter Moira Smiley

Singer / Composer Moira Smiley has toured the world and recorded with Indie-pop favourites, Tuneyards, performing with them on all the late-night TV shows (Kimmel,
Colbert, Conan O’Brien, UK’s Jools Holland, etc.) and recently to re-open David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center in NYC with Chris Thile, Hilary Hahn and Brad Mehldau. She began her singing career in Baroque and Medieval music,
collaborating with Paul Hillier, Fretless Consort of Viols, Dufay Collective and Sinfonye, BBC Singers and New World Symphony. As a folksinger, she’s fronted the legendary Irish-American supergroup, Solas as well as the Lomax and Folklife Projects produced by Jayme Stone, and continues to lead her own vocal collaborations as VOCO and The Voice Is A Traveler.

As a composer, she’s premiered works alongside Eric
Whitacre, Morten Lauridsen, Shara Nova, Billy Childs and many others. Moira has been featured in TED conferences, on BBC Radio and TV, NPR, ABC Australia, and
live at countless venues from Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall to Walt Disney Concert Hall and Royal Festival Hall. She brings vivid, embodied singing to stages tiny and grand, atop glaciers or in cozy kitchens from Taiwan to
Tasmania.

Moira’s 2018 solo album ‘Unzip The Horizon’ premiered at
the prestigious Savannah Music Festival in 2018, and she published its companion choral Songbook in 2019. In February of 2021, she released her vocal album ‘In Our Voices’, featuring international VOCO collaborators. A new album of folksongs with string quartet, ‘The Rhizome Project’ will be released in 2024.

“I’m so thankful I’ve had the privilege of performing and
recording with Moira. She embodies the endless creative potential of the voice, and… (has made) a deeply moving body of work.” Merrill Garbus - Tune-Yards

Athens born to Lebanese Canadian parents, Lara Eidi is an artist that thrives on being different. As an independent artist, singer and multi- instrumentalist, she has carved a path for herself that continuously aimed at reshaping and developing her voice as a storyteller. An accomplished and reputable singer-songwriter, pianist, recording artist and jazz- folk vocalist of her own accord based in London and
Athens. Her music has gained her critical acclaim as a
genre bending artist (BBC Artist, 2020), described as “a singer with true gift of a voice, a kind soul, and a captivating presence.” (Jazz UK). At the heart
of her being as a multi-disciplinary artist, she is sought after as a composer for vocal film scores, writes as a
freelance music journalist, and is in demand as a creative workshop leader. Her music seeks to elevate and heal, and as a result, she creates genre- defying songs with a great emphasis on story telling. Her latest album ‘Sun’,
her long awaited debut album, is all about pulling the threads of her folk, acoustic rock and jazz-classical upbringing to her message of hope, empowerment, and freedom. As a soloist, her recent debut performance at the infamous Royal Albert Hall, singing select pieces from Greece and Lebanon form the MedievalByzantine
Traditions sees Lara engaging on a series of select and innovative performances with the SAUDHA Indian Classical Music Association. 

Lara Eidi website

Welcome to our latest episode of ‘In Conversation With’ with host and producer Hannah Horton, with
our theme tune Surfing Thermals from our host, Hannah too! In this episode, host Hannah Horton welcomes Laura Impallomeni!

Our podcasts are named as one of the Top 15 Women In Media Podcasts on the web by Feedspot and you can also find our podcasts at number 9 in the top 60 Best Jazz Podcasts in FeedSpot!

Laura Impallomeni is a jazz trombonist, composer and
musical director of various projects. In 2020 she graduated from her MMus in Jazz Trombone from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, where she
studied improvisation and composition under world famous musicians. She went on to receive the Arts Council England ‘Develop Your Creative Practice Fund’ to compose a collection of original contemporary jazz compositions under skilled mentorship, featuring trombone as the lead instrument.

In November 2020, she debuted this body of work at a sold out concert at London Jazz Festival 2022 with her contemporary jazz quintet . She has just been awarded the “record and Release’ grant from Help Musicians and expects to release her debut jazz album in 2024. Laura has performed and toured with various renowned artists such as First Aid Kit, The Dualers, Giffords Circus, Janet Kay and Ken Boothe. She is the musical director,
composer and trombonist of an original 11 piece afro jazz band called ‘Yamäya’, who have just released their debut album ‘Senegal’ on Funkiwala Records. She is also the trombonist for Rootsgarden Dub Soundsytem, The Voodoo Love Orchestra (cambia and salsa) and Barnacles (experimental jazz) and works for London music charity ‘Play for Progress’ as a therapeutic music teacher/workshop leader with young asylum seekers and refugees.

On the 25th of April she will perform a mixture of some of
her original compositions and her favourite standards alongside members of her quintet. Tickets available here

Laura links here

Hannah Horton is a British Female Jazz Saxophonist whose music is rooted in jazz, folk and funk. She has performed with many great jazz artists including Ian Shaw, Amy Winehouse, John Etheridge, Tina May, Georgia Mancio, Polly Gibbons, Natalie Williams, Esther Bennett and Irene Serra; and at venues including Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express Dean St, The 606, The Pheasantry, Love
Supreme Jazz Festival, Royal Festival Hall and The Barbican. She has also toured in Europe and USA with her own and other groups. Her latest album has been going down a storm across the world. “Hannah makes the big beast of a baritone sax sound like an angel” – Ian Shaw. Hannah Horton website