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Hilary Jeffery — Green Prism: music by Keith Tippett
(Discus Music 197CD, 2026, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2026-06-29

Green Prism: music by Keith Tippett Cover art

Hilary Jeffery is a composer, arranger, teacher, and multi-instrumentalist, born in suburban England in 1971, though he is currently based in Berlin. The material on Green Prism consists of arrangements of music written by Keith Tippett in the latter part of his career, mostly drawn from a suite titled “Winter’s Welcome” in 2018, originally performed by the brass ensemble Zinc and Copper in Berlin in February 2019, although Tippett was unable to attend the performance due to poor health, even a year and a half before his untimely passing in July of 2020. Jeffery decided at that point to record everything over again, starting with multi-tracked brass recordings he had made beginning in 2021; by 2024 he had enlisted Paul Dunmall (tenor and soprano saxes), Julie Tippetts (Keith’s widow, contributing vocals and lyrics), and Eleni Poulou (synthesizer and electronics, whom Jeffery had been working with in Berlin), and the recordings began to take shape, adding additional contributions by Tobias Delius (tenor sax and clarinet) and Poulou in 2025, before the final mix and mastering later that year. The eight pieces that comprise Green Prism are at once powerful and gentle, beautiful and sublime. Having both Tippetts and Dunmall involved, both from Keith Tippett’s inner circle, only underscores the reality that Jeffery’s arrangements are true to what the composer would have wanted for his work. Julie’s voice adds an element of grace and beaty to the arrangements that complement Jeffery’s massed choirs of brass (trumpets, trombones, euphonium, tuba), with the saxophones and clarinet (as well as Julie’s wordless vocalizations) providing a dreamlike quality to the arrangements. Every track is essential, and should be listened to as a complete suite; I wouldn’t want to pick and choose any favorites, although “Green Prism Parthers” is a piece with a most interesting trajectory that brings the overarching jazz idiom of the suite very close to classical territory. All taken, Green Prism is a most engaging and immersive suite of music that should be experienced by all.

Filed under: New releases, 2026 releases

Related artist(s): Julie Tippetts (Driscoll), Keith Tippett, Paul Dunmall, Hilary Jeffery

More info
http://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/green-prism-music-by-keith-tippett-197cd-2026

 

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