In this episode, Geoff catches up with the super-talented saxophonist, guitarist, composer and arranger Harry Greene - a recent graduate of the Royal Academy of Music who is already making a big name for himself on the London jazz scene.

We are in a back room at The Stables Theatre in Milton Keynes and it is abundantly clear that Harry has a serious work ethic and a wide-angle taste. He takes us right back to the moment Pink Floyd’s ‘Money’ hooked him, not just for the groove, but for the fact it featured both sax and guitar, and he decided he wanted to learn both! From there we explore the real building blocks of a career in in jazz: teachers who unlock vocabulary, the early thrill of hearing Charlie Parker language, and the kind of listening that turns curiosity into fluency.

We also get practical about what life looks like after training. Harry talks about living outside London in Suffolk, and why the commute pushes him towards arranging, composing, and music production work alongside gigging. You’ll hear how he balances playing sax and guitar across different bands and genres, including dates with Incognito and the excitement of travel. We zoom in on improvisation with an impromptu performance of  the Leiber/Stoller/Miller 50s standard ‘Bernie’s Tune’ (accompanied by the Quartet app no less), and unpacking the choices, colours, and pathways he reaches for, plus the saxophone voices that shaped him, from Hank Mobley to Dexter Gordon.

If you’ve ever argued about charts versus learning by ear, we go there too. Harry shares why reading and clear charts can save hours, how under-preparation is the fastest route to nerves, and what it took to prep off-book horn parts for a recent pop tour with Olly Murs.

We finish with a quick-fire run of favourites, a love letter to Ronnie Scott’s, and even a favourite chord. Subscribe for more conversations like this, share it with a musician friend, and leave a review with the one track that changed your musical life.

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