Jo Harrop - The Heart Wants (2021) Hi Res

Following the release of her debut original album "The Heart Wants", Jo will perform a special EFG London Jazz Festival showcase of the album in the intimate jazz club.

Written and recorded over the last year when the world came to a sudden standstill in the wake of the pandemic, "The Heart Wants" is an album about love and life, about losing and then finding oneself in the silence after the applause has faded away.

Although she has built a reputation as an intuitive interpreter of other people’s songs, Jo Harrop would be the first to admit that she always lacked the confidence to reveal her own words to the world. With no shows in her diary, she started working on what would eventually turn out to be her first album of original material with producers Hannah Vasanth and Jamie McCredie alongside a guest list of top-notch musicians including Christian McBride, Jason Rebello and Troy Miller.

From the sublime chamber pop of "If I Knew" to the Muscle Shoals soul of "Hold On", "The Heart Wants" will no doubt come as quite a surprise to anyone who thought she was only capable of singing jazz ballads.

Beyond the mellifluous perfection of her chocolate and cream voice, there is always a beautifully bruised intimacy at the very heart of Jo Harrop’s music. It’s almost as if she’s staring directly into your soul when she sings. This may only be her second LP, yet she sounds as if she’s already lived a thousand lifetimes.