Hannah Horton is currently touring her new album Stories On The Wind. The multi-instrumentalist focuses on tenor and baritone saxes for the music, and as part of the tour made a welcome return to Epsom Jazz Club (hosted at the Comrades Club) on 25 June. After a day of record-breaking heat, it was nice to enjoy the air-conditioned, intimate atmosphere of the Comrades Club to hear Hannah and her band (Rob Statham – electric bass, Steve Taylor – drums, Sam Leak – piano, organ) work through around two hours of material with understated brilliance.
The first set worked exclusively through songs from Stories On The Wind, with Hannah outlining what influenced the compositions. This offered insights into being an only child and also touched on topics such as nature, bereavement and finding new love. There were also interesting comments on the challenges of working as an independent musician, with the associated perils of record deals going wrong, debt and the power and magic of crowdfunding to offer financial support. Music is all about connection, and these snippets of conversation between the songs really added to the enjoyment and flow of the evening.
Having worked together as a group on the recording of Stories On The Wind, the musicians enjoyed a tight bond. Sam Leak served up some wonderful solos on piano and organ with effortless ease, Rob Statham worked away unobtrusively on electric bass, and Steve Taylor added some blistering drum solos to the mix as and when required. Hannah moved seamlessly between tenor and baritone sax. She was floating and melodic on both instruments, and her compositions offered the full range – from introspective ballads to fun-loving, rhythmically driven bop and songs that showed classical and folk influences.
The second set of the evening drew on some of Hannah’s earlier work, and a few recent compositions that have yet to find a home, as they don’t appear on Stories On The Wind. Easing into the spirit of the evening, the band asked for suggestions from the audience – notes, images, ideas – so that Sam Leak could create an in-the-moment solo introduction to Star Gazing, and later on audience participation was encouraged with clapping out a rhythm to accompany Steve Taylor on a drum solo. “Still getting used to the audience participation bit” admitted Hannah; but it worked a treat. The final number of the evening drew on Hannah’s love for Morris dancing. “Morris Men on acid” was how she described this blistering jazz take on traditional English music and dance.
A natural communicator as well as a gifted performer, Hannah Horton seemed perfectly matched to the intimate, tucked-away venue in Epsom and being close to the audience for this terrific evening of music. Outside, the streets were still smouldering from the heat; the jazz had been pretty hot too.
Hannah Horton at Epsom Jazz Club, 25 June 2026
