Jazz Articles about Billy Marrows

About Billy Marrows

Album Review

Jack Wilson (UK): The Bear And The Wolf

Read "The Bear And The Wolf" reviewed by Neil Duggan

by Neil Duggan
June 23, 2026

Originally from North Yorkshire but now London-based, saxophonist and composer Jack Wilson presents his debut album, The Bear And The Wolf. His style, which mixes jazz with world and folk influences, showcases him as a growing presence throughout the UK and Europe with sell-out shows, tours and appearances at jazz and folk festivals. Wilson, who graduated from London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2021, leads a quartet consisting of Billy Marrows on electric guitar, Max Kahn ...

Album Review

Billy Marrows: Dancing On Bentwood Chairs

Read "Dancing On Bentwood Chairs" reviewed by Neil Duggan

by Neil Duggan
February 10, 2026

Recorded in December 2021 following a run of live performances, Dancing on Bentwood Chairs is the first album from the Billy Marrows Band. The release was put on temporary hold as his charity project album Penelope (Self Produced, 2024) was shortlisted for the 2025 Parliamentary Jazz Awards Album of the Year and was then followed by a live version. The intriguing album title and cover were inspired by the line “My days of dancing on bentwood ...

Album Review

Billy Marrows And Grande Familia: The Penelope Album Live

Read "The Penelope Album Live" reviewed by Neil Duggan

by Neil Duggan
April 15, 2025

In 2024 London-based guitarist and composer Billy Marrows formed a 12-piece chamber-jazz ensemble. Together as Billy Marrows and Grande Familia, they released their debut album, Penelope (Self Produced), in memory of Marrows' mother, Penny. This deeply personal project used tunes he had written during her battle with cancer. The band featured Marrows' musical friends and relations playing in various formats: as a 12-piece ensemble, in smaller combinations and Marrows' solo guitar pieces. The project was used to raise funds for ...

Album Review

Billy Marrows and Grande Família: Penelope

by Neil Duggan
April 14, 2024

London-based guitarist and composer Billy Marrows brings us a new 12-piece chamber-jazz ensemble, Grande Família. It is a family affair with members of his extended family and a wider circle of close friends and musical associates making up the group. Their debut album, Penelope, is released in memory of Marrows' mother, Penny. Most of the music was written by Marrows as a surprise for his mother during her battle with cancer. All proceeds go to World Child Cancer, a charity ...

Album Review

OK Aurora: Only In Autumn

Read "Only In Autumn" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
July 16, 2021

Rod Oughton is a young London drummer with considerable technical proficiency, and a composer and bandleader of promise. With his octet OK Aurora, which prominently features singer Alina Miroshnichenko, Oughton aims to bridge the gap between jazz and what might rather patronizingly be called intelligent pop. Only In Autumn is the band's second release, following the self-produced EP Baby Zeza (2019). The intelligent pop part of Oughton's equation lies primarily in the lyrics, just under half of ...