'Rhapsody In Red’ is set to release on September 2nd and, amongst the stellar cast, showcases two giants of the modern scene in British saxophonist Tim Garland and virtuosic vibraphone master Joe Locke (USA). Along with vocalist Amy Keys, they provide the glittering focal point to a high-energy journey into the contemporary large-ensemble scene.

An homage to George Gershwin’s masterpiece ‘Rhapsody in Blue’, the album features original compositions, revitalisations of Garland’s older tunes and an original composition by Joe Locke.

Garland’s lush large-ensemble arrangements tastefully incorporate themes from Gerswhin’s suite and rework them into a dynamic and intricate new collection of songs.

Rich modern harmonies reminiscent of Kenny Wheeler, propulsive Big Band-esque rhythms, blinding improvisations and a wide array of instrumental timbres make this an exciting and immersive listening experience. The powerful vocals of Amy Keys provide a counterpoint to the dense instrumental textures and give the record an uplifting pop sensibility.

With the rest of the band featuring household names of the European modern jazz scene including Tom Cawley, Rob Luft, and Arthur Hnatek, the 12-piece’s impressive list of past collaborators includes the likes of Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Phil Collins, Kenny Wheeler, Tigran Hamasyan, the Beastie Boys, Mike Stern, Van Morrison, and the list goes on.

Aram hopes the record’s release will see these musicians regain momentum lost during the pandemic, and see the ensemble reunite on stage on the European club and festival scene in 2023.


From John Aram:


“I first met Tim Garland in the early 2000’s, just after he had started working with Chick Corea. I had been really influenced by an album that Tim had done called “Enter the Fire” and fell in love with his work. We recorded an album together in 2003. Tim had a 10 piece group that played a monthly gig at the pizza express in Soho. This was a fantastic group and played the arrangements and compositions of Tim. As usual with projects like this, it was disbanded and because of other things was put on one side. In around 2017 I had been using some of these arrangements and revisiting some of Tim’s work. We spoke and I asked him if he would be interested in trying to write a suite of music for a similar group. I wanted the group to be made up of musicians from London and also from my adopted country, Switzerland.

Having spent a great deal of my time over the last 20 or more years working with musicians from both countries, I found that there was a real difference in aesthetic and between musicians from Europe and the UK. I wanted to try to exploit this in the music that was written and also the musicians styles as the music was played.


We began with a suite called Round Trip which is loosely based on me, the places I lived and the connections with my life. The band recorded and played this music in clubs in Switzerland and the UK. We next wrote a new work that is the new album, Rhapsody in Red. This was recorded a couple of weeks before Covid shut everything down and it is only now that we are ready to release this new work to the public.


We have two main invited guests on the album. Joe Locke is a good friend of Tim and they played together for a long period of time in a group with Geoffrey Keezer Storms/Nocturnes.

Amy Keys is a good friend of mine. We met for a tour with Phil Collins and have since recorded on several occasions together. Amy is a phenomenal singer. She has toured as soloist with Herbie Hancock group as well as singing with just about every pop icon on the planet.


Rhapsody in Red was clearly influenced by Gershwin’s Rhapsody in blue and Tim tastefully took themes from Gershwins masterpiece and reworked them into a new dynamic work that shows the wonderful compositional skills of this exceptional composer and performer. Some new pieces were written for the album and some older pieces were rearranged for the musicians and the large ensemble. Blues for Little Joe, was originally recorded by Tim, Joe Locke and Geoff Keezer but is now developed into a full blown workout for the whole 12 piece ensemble.


We are steadily trying to recuperate some of the momentum lost after covid and hope that 2023 will see the ensemble return to the stage in festival and club appearances in both the Uk and in Europe.


The musicians in the band are all people chosen carefully by myself. Some are based in Switzerland and others in the UK. Phil Donkin on bass, Tom Cawley on piano and keys and Graeme Blevins are members of my quintet since 2010. Graeme has been a friend and touring partner since 2009 when we first worked together with Phil Collins, recording and touring together. Arthur Hnatek is an incredible young drummer from Switzerland who has toured with Tigran Hamaysan, Shai Maestro and Erik Triufaz as well as some really innovative projects with his “SWIMS” project. Arthur has also been a member of my quintet since 2014.”