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 course, how the London jazz scene shaped his comping and voicings, and what it’s like doing hundreds of gigs at Ronnie Scott’s with top rhythm sections night after night.

Tim opens up about a long break in recording, depression, family life, and how that experience reshaped his relationship with risk on stage. Then we get practical: reharmonising the Jerome Kern/Otto Harbach 1930’s standard ‘Yesterdays’ (accompanied by Quartet of course), the logic of chord substitutions, and a final reveal of his favourite chord a bold G7 voicing with clashing-sounding tensions that somehow lands beautifully when you hear the internal relationships.

When Geoff asks about “playing outside”, Tim’s answer is simple and demanding: one improvised idea should lead naturally to the next if you truly listen while you play. That mindset connects directly to confidence and mental health, too. Tim explains how surviving very low periods changes your perspective on performance, making it easier to take chances because a wrong note is not a disaster.

If you care about jazz harmony, piano voicings, improvisation, and learning standards in a real-world way, hit subscribe, share the episode with a musician friend, and leave us a review so more listeners can find the show.

Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne
Series Producer: Paul Sissons
Production Manager: Martin Sissons
The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.

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 make left-hand bass punch through, and how you can capture the Leslie rotating speaker magic even when there isn’t a real cabinet in the room. Pete breaks down drawbars in plain English, explains harmonics and “footage”, and shows how a single note can carry the colour of a chord. He treats us to the 1950s Sammy Fain standard ‘Secret Love’ (accompanied by the Quartet app of course), and talks through what changes when there is or isn’t a bass player on the gig.

Pete shares the story behind his jazz education: classical training, a great ear, the pull of Jimmy Smith, the modal shock of Larry Young’s album ‘Unity’ (1965), and the very real learning curve of getting thrown into gigs. We end with honest chat about nerves, time feel, favourite venues like Ronnie Scott’s, plus a few quick-fire favourites that make the musician behind the instrument feel close.

If you enjoy jazz standards, Hammond organ, organ trio playing, and practical insights you can take to the keyboard, subscribe, share the show with a mate, and leave us a review.

Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne
Series Producer: Paul Sissons
Production Manager: Martin Sissons
The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.

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 guy” who never quite fits the neat labels but ends up building a voice that bands actually need.

We go deep on the practical side of being a working guitarist: tiny amps, the old suspicion around pedals, and how different venues can make your instrument feel either effortless or impossible. From there we jump into jazz standards and the reality of learning tunes before the Real Book era, plus what it’s like to catch up on theory in your thirties while already gigging. If you care about jazz guitar vocabulary, you’ll enjoy John’s take on chord tones versus scales, why bebop is not “just scales”, and how modal thinking changes the way you hear the same notes. John treats us to an impromptu improvisation of the 60’s Benny Golson standard ‘Killer Joe’ - accompanied of course by the Quartet app.

There are stories too: playing with Stéphane Grappelli, recording alongside Tony Williams, the love and hate around the Miles Davis album ‘In a Silent Way’ (1969), and the unique challenge of collaborating with classical guitar icon John Williams, where written precision meets improvisation. We finish with quick-fire favourites, a couple of gorgeous chord choices, and John’s philosophy on keeping Soft Machine fresh without turning the music into a museum.

If you enjoy jazz standards, British jazz, jazz fusion, guitar tone and real-world improvisation, hit subscribe, share this with a guitarist friend, and leave us a review so more people can find the show.

Presenter: Geoff Gascoyne
Series Producer: Paul Sissons
Production Manager: Martin Sissons
The Quartet Jazz Standards Podcast is a UK Music Apps production.