One of the most striking things about Teddy’s Songaminute album is that it was not simply a warm-hearted family project captured with a few local players. The personnel list shows something much more impressive: a gathering of high-level British jazz, studio and orchestral musicians, many of them with credits that stretch across the worlds of jazz clubs, film sessions, West End productions, television orchestras and major recording artists.
At the centre of it all is Guy Barker, who served as conductor and music director. Barker is one of the most respected figures in British jazz: a trumpeter, composer and arranger whose career has included work with John Dankworth, Gil Evans, Lena Horne and Bobby Watson, and whose own albums such as Timeswing, Soundtrack and The Amadeus Project helped establish him as one of the most in-demand arrangers of modern British jazz. He was awarded an MBE for services to jazz, which tells you a lot about the level Teddy’s album was operating at musically.
That sense of pedigree continues across the band. Alan Barnes, on clarinet, is widely regarded as one of the great stalwarts of UK jazz — not just a fine player, but a genuine institution on the scene. His own biography describes him as an international performer, composer, arranger and bandleader, and his long-standing reputation in British jazz makes his presence on the record especially significant. Alongside him was guitarist Nigel Price, an award-winning musician whose career spans more than 25 years, including work with Van Morrison, David Axelrod, James Taylor’s band and well over 500 appearances at Ronnie Scott’s. Price is one of those names that serious jazz listeners immediately recognise.
The brass section was equally distinguished. Barnaby Dickinson, one of London’s most in-demand trombonists, has worked with artists including Sting, Elton John, Robbie Williams, Kylie and Quincy Jones, while Callum Au, another trombone chair on the album, has gone on to build a major reputation as a composer, arranger and orchestrator, with credits including Michael Bublé and large-scale contemporary jazz projects of his own. Barnaby, in particular, is described by the Royal Academy of Music as one of the best trombonists in Europe — the sort of credit that tells you this was a genuinely high-level recording team. The album also featured accordionist Mark Bousie, a highly versatile London musician whose career spans performance, composition and music direction. His credits include major West End productions such as Evita, Carousel, Oliver!, Miss Saigon and Les Misérables, further underlining the depth of professional talent behind Teddy’s record. That same quality ran through the wider band: respected jazz pianists, horn players, string players and backing vocalists drawn from the upper reaches of the UK’s session world — musicians whose careers span jazz clubs, television orchestras, commercial studio work, theatre pits and film soundtracks.
On piano, the album features Jim Watson, one of Britain’s most in-demand pianists and keyboard players. His published biography places him in the orbit of artists such as Sting, Katie Melua, Kurt Elling, Chrissie Hynde, Richard Bona and Zero 7, which shows the breadth of his reputation across jazz, pop and studio work. His recent solo album Calling You Home also highlights his stature as an artist in his own right.
There are also several contributors whose names reveal just how deep the quality runs. Jean Kelly, the harpist on the project, has built a distinguished career spanning classical, session and crossover work, with performances at Buckingham Palace and Highgrove and collaborations including the BBC Concert Orchestra, Michael Bublé, Rod Stewart, Paloma Faith and Sir James Galway. Violinist Alison Dods brings another level of prestige: a member of the Tippett Quartet and the theatre ensemble Gogmagogs, she has worked with artists such as Paul Weller, appearing as solo violinist on Heavy Soul.
One especially poignant name on the list is Sonia Slany, the violinist, arranger and composer who died in 2021. Tributes have described her as a much-loved figure who enriched the London music scene for decades, contributing to projects involving Laurie Anderson, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Courtney Pine and many film soundtracks recorded in London. Her inclusion on Teddy’s album now feels even more special in hindsight, because she was clearly regarded not just as a player, but as one of those rare musicians who connected entire communities.
The saxophone and woodwind chairs also show real depth. Graeme Blevins is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music and a long-established London-based saxophonist and session player, with work spanning jazz, education and commercial recording. Colin Skinner, another highly respected woodwind player and arranger, has been associated with major UK big-band institutions including the BBC Big Band, the Glenn Miller Orchestra and the Syd Lawrence Orchestra, placing him firmly in the tradition Teddy’s repertoire naturally touches.
The vocal contributors add yet another layer. Iain Mackenzie is a particularly notable name, associated with the Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra and the BBC Big Band, and with performances alongside figures such as Kenny Wheeler and Abdullah Ibrahim. He brings real jazz-vocal authority. Katie Birtill and Emma Kershaw also come from strong performance backgrounds spanning concert work, theatre and session singing, showing that even the backing vocal section was built from experienced professionals rather than anonymous studio fillers.
Behind the scenes, the studio personnel reinforce the same point. Jeremy Murphy is a versatile engineer associated with AIR Studios, specialising in large ensemble, film and television scoring, and big-band and jazz recording. Steve Price was a Grammy-winning engineer, mixer and producer with more than 25 years’ experience. When you put those names alongside Guy Barker’s musical leadership, it becomes clear that Songaminute benefited from a production team accustomed to working at a very high professional level.
Taken together, the album credits paint a vivid picture. Teddy’s record was supported by a network of elite British jazz players, top London session musicians, respected arrangers, orchestral freelancers and experienced studio hands. Some are major headline figures in their own right; others are the kind of quietly formidable musicians whose names may not be famous to the general public but are deeply respected within the industry. Either way, the list shows that this album was made with real craft, real pedigree and a level of musicianship far above what most people would expect from a one-off project.
In that sense, Songaminute becomes more than just a touching family story. It also stands as a record that attracted the support of musicians from the very top tier of the UK’s jazz and session world — artists whose collective experience reaches into concert halls, jazz clubs, television orchestras, film studios and major-label recordings. That gives the album an added layer of significance: it is not only heartfelt, but musically distinguished.
