Harben Kay

“The World I Live In”

(Sulis Records SULCD002)

Harben Kay – tenor saxophone, flute, alto flute, spoken word, Peter Johnstone – piano, Calum Gourlay – double bass, Alyn Cosker – drums

“The World I Live In” is the third album release as a leader from the Scottish saxophonist, flautist, composer and bandleader Harben Kay, the artist formerly known as Helena Kay.

It follows “Moon Palace” (2018) and “Golden Sands” (2022), both released under the name Helena Kay’s KIM Trio and both reviewed elsewhere on The Jazzmann.

Kay is also an artist that I have enjoyed seeing play live on more than one occasion in a range of instrumental formats ranging from saxophonist / composer / educator Issie Barratt’s large ensemble Interchange at the 2018 Cheltenham Jazz Festival to a duo with pianist Sam Watts at the 2019 EFG London Jazz Festival.

In 2021 Kay performed as part of a sextet led by trombonist Rory Ingham at a Shrewsbury Jazz Network event at The Hive. Meanwhile 2023 saw two visits to Brecon,  with Kay first playing alto sax as a member of pianist Zoe Rahman’s Octet at Brecon Jazz Festival and later specialising on tenor at a Club event as part of Tomorrow’s New Quartet alongside drummer / leader Rod Oughton, pianist Deschanel Gordon and bassist Flo Moore.

In addition to their two previous albums as leader Kay has also appeared on recordings by Tomorrow’s New Quartet, bassist Calum Gourlay, trumpeters Yazz Ahmed and Sean Gibbs and saxophonist Josephine Davies.

Although born in Perth Kay’s musical career began with the Fife Youth Jazz Orchestra and in 2015 Kay was the winner of the Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year competition.  In 2017 Kay was the winner of the prestigious Peter Whittingham Jazz Award, awarded by Help Musicians UK, which helped to finance the “Moon Palace” recording.

Kay studied at London’s Guildhall School of Music, graduating in 2016, and also spent time living and studying in New York, a city with which Kay retains close links. During the time in New York Kay studied with saxophonists Melissa Aldana, Dayna Stephens and Chris Cheek.

Kay has worked frequently with large ensembles such as the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra (including their collaborations with guest artists such as vibraphonist Joe Locke, bassist Arild Andersen and vocalist Kurt Elling) and with the big bands led by bassist Calum Gourlay, trumpeters Ryan Quigley and Sean Gibbs and saxophonists Tommy Smith, Stan Sulzmann and Paul Towndrow.

Both of Kay’s previous albums are credited to Kay’s KIM Trio, originally, Kay, drummer Dave Ingamells and bassist Misha Mullov-Abbado.  The last named left the group fairly early on and was replaced by Ferg Ireland, who played on “Moon Palace”

“Moon Palace” was a genuine saxophone trio recording but “Golden Sands” was actually a quartet album that saw Ireland replaced by Calum Gourlay and with pianist Peter Johnstone also present on all tracks. The KIM Trio band named was retained to provide continuity with the previous release.

Gourlay and Johnstone are also present on “The World I Live In”, another quartet recording that sees the vastly experienced Alyn Cosker taking over the drum chair. Released on Kay’s own Sulis Records imprint it features Kay’s compositions exclusively and also sees the leader doubling on various flutes in addition to making their vocal debut with two spoken word passages.

The Jazzmann had the pleasure of seeing a preview of some of this new music when Kay and Johnstone performed a superb duo set at Milton Court Concert Hall as part of the 2024 Guildhall Jazz Festival, which runs concurrently with the EFG London Festival and comes under the broader EFG LIF umbrella.

Kay and Johnson go back a long way, having first played together as teenagers in the Scottish National Youth Jazz Orchestra. An intimate and frequently beautiful duo performance at Milton Court included material from the “Golden Sands” album plus a number of newer compositions that have now been recorded for “The World I Live In”. At the time of the Milton Court show Kay and Johnstone thought that they might record as a duo but ultimately the album has become a full band project.

Recorded in March 2025 the new album also marks Kay’s first collaboration with an outside producer, with the renowned pianist and composer Fergus McCreadie taking on the role. Kay says of their collaboration;
“Fergus is so good at shaping his own music, I knew he would add so much to the music I’d written. We’ve known each other for such a long time and I trust his judgement completely”.

Kay and McCreadie both played in the Fife Youth Jazz Orchestra and have maintained close ties ever since. McCreadie is aided greatly in his role as producer by the experienced engineering team of Gus Stirratt and Alex Bonney, both of whom also double as performing musicians.

The music on “The World I Live In” also draws inspiration from the world of literature and writers such as author Bernardine Evaristo, and particularly the book “Manifesto”, and poet Mary Oliver.

The music is also informed by the subject of change, as Kay explains;
“There has been a lot of change in my life over the last few years and this album reflects that. It’s about how change shapes who we are and influences the music we create.”

The album commences with the title track, a composition that originally featured the words of the American poet Mary Oliver (1935-2019). The Milton Court performance featured Kay reading Oliver’s words but Kay was unable to use Oliver’s poem on the recording, presumably for copyright reasons. Instead she has written her own lines, which emphasise the theme of the album. These are reproduced as part of the album packaging and read;
“I will bot be bound by the ropes of convention
I am too expansive to be tied down
Who needs an anchor when you have wings?
Let the winds of uncertainty blow you astray
To the most beautiful place within”
Kay recites the verse above the sounds of Gourlay’s double bass, with Cosker subtly joining in. The leader then switches to tenor sax, with Johnstone’s piano also sidling in to the picture on this ensemble piece (no individual solos). Kay says of the rhythm team “we’ve played together for years in various settings and they are a dream rhythm section”.

“Laylow” begins with the duo of Kay and Johnstone, subsequently joined by Gourlay’s bass and Cosker’s drums. There’s an agreeable Monk like quirkiness about a piece that bustles along and which places considerable emphasis on the synchronicity between the players. Johnstone attempts to break away,  audibly singing along to his own melodic inventions while also being closely shadowed by Kay’s tenor as the pair enter into a series of lively sax and piano exchanges, urged on by the busy combination of bass and drums.

“Virago”, a term for a female warrior, was one of the pieces played at Milton Court. Here it’s preceded by “Virago (intro)” which introduces a folk element to the music, something that might be reflective of McCreadie’s influence. The atmospheric “intro” section features Kay’s tenor sax incantations above a bagpipe like drone.

“Virago” itself is a tumultuous, fast moving piece that like its duo counterpart at Milton Court features the most aggressive playing of the set as Kay stretches out forcefully on tenor, urged on by Gourlay’s propulsive bass lines and some typically busy and dynamic drumming from Cosker. Johnstone delivers a concise but torrential piano solo and there’s a truly explosive drum feature towards the close. It’s breathless stuff and one can imagine this piece becoming a live favourite, with the musicians soloing even more powerfully and expansively in this context.

The ensemble piece “Twinship” maintains something of the energy and squeezes a lot of information into its two minute duration as a jagged, Monk like theme veers off into more loosely structured, near free jazz territory.

“Swolf”, another tune that was played at Milton Court, features Kay on alto flute and in this incarnation also incorporates a delightfully melodic double bass solo from Gourlay. Meanwhile Cosker delivers an impressively sensitive performance behind the kit.

“Blue Beetle” is an upbeat excursion into conventional jazz swing with an arresting melodic hook providing the vehicle for solos from Kay on hard edged tenor, and Johnstone on piano, urged on by the dynamic drumming of the versatile Cosker.

The lovely ballad “Winter Halo” was performed in duo format at Milton Court and is equally beautiful here with the addition of double bass and brushed drums. As before Kay’s tenor sound is soft and breathy and Johnstone’s piano gently lyrical, with bass and drums now providing appropriately sensitive support. Nevertheless it’s the symbiosis between sax and piano that is at the heart of this piece.

“Turning Tides” opens with Kay’s intoning of a second spoken word verse, the lines reading as follows;
“Some things will come and go
Some things will always remain
The waves of change come crashing in
Shifting the landscape once again
It turns you upside down
Where everything looks new
From there the ideas will grow
Starting from within you”
Again the voice is underscored by bass and drums, the playing more vigorous this time. Kay features on tenor sax and flute, making use of overdubbing techniques as the instruments double up on the melodic theme. The first featured soloist is Johnstone, who constructs his feature neatly and carefully, gradually ramping up the intensity and excitement. Kay’s tenor solo exhibits similar qualities, with Gourlay and Cosker again providing the necessary rhythmic encouragement.
The piece segues almost abruptly into the gentler “Turning Tides (postlude)”, which again sees Kay doubling on sax and flute on a brief but captivating and charming musical postscript.

Once again Kay has delivered an album that combines thoughtful and intelligent writing with excellent playing and which again combines conventional jazz virtues with more contemporary ideas. The spoken episodes are brief and the words themselves both pertinent and poetic, making their salient points without intruding into the fabric of the music. By modern day standards it’s a relatively short album but no track is allowed to outstay its welcome and no note, beat or word is wasted.

The Harben Kay Quartet is currently on tour in support of the album with remaining dates as follows;

October 2025

16 The Queens Hall, Edinburgh

17 Perth Theatre, Perth

20 NQ Jazz, Manchester

21 The Glad Cafe, Glasgow

23 Peggy’s Skylight, Nottingham

24 Sheffield Jazz, Crookes Social Club

25 The Verdict, Brighton

26 The Vortex, London

Ticket links at;
https://www.harbenkay.com/tour-1

Kay’s recordings are available here;
https://harbenkay.bandcamp.com/music

 

 

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