Today I have the pleasure of introducing a wonderful artist named Josephine Pascoe who, together with guitarist and producer Neil Thom, creates exceptional instrumental music with various and ever-changing elements of jazz, acid jazz, classical, blues and funk. Based in the London suburbs, she’s a classically trained pianist, violinist and flautist with a life-long love of music. She began studying piano at the age of five, then violin at eight and flute at thirteen, much of it at Trinity College of Music in London, where she also began composing her own music. She also trained to be a secondary school music teacher, but prefers giving one-on-one instrumental instruction on piano and violin.   

According to an article about Josephine on the music blog COOLTOP20, she met Neil in 2016 when she began taking guitar lessons from him. Besides teaching guitar, Neil is a producer and sound engineer with a wealth of experience working with various artists, bands and record companies. One night, after a few rounds of drinks, the two decided to have a go at writing something together, and took some jazzy chords Josephine had been playing with and developed it into what would become their first track “Florescence”, which they released in May 2017. In the years since, they’ve recorded and released 14 more songs, their latest of which is “Starfish“, an exuberant acid jazz tune which dropped May 5th. Josephine and Neil are both big fans of English funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai, whose influence is strongly evident in their music.

Like most of their songs, “Starfish” was co-written by Josephine and Neil. For the track’s recording, she played piano, Rhodes electric piano, strings and flute, while he played guitar, bass and drums. Neil also produced and engineered the track. As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, their songs incorporate an ever-changing mix of styles that make each one sound unique. Whereas their previous single “Eden” has a mellow jazz vibe, “Zomer” is breezy acid jazz, and “Before The Light Goes Out” is a soothing, contemplative piano ballad, “Starfish” has a more spirited dance-oriented feel, with a strong lively beat. Highlights for me are Josephine’s resonant piano keys, spirited strings and airy flute. Neil’s funky guitars and bass provide a wonderful, edgy counterpoint to the more classical-sounding strings and flute, yet complement both quite nicely. It’s a marvelous track.

Here’s “Starfish” on YouTube:

And on Bandcamp:

Connect with Josephine: Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Find her music on Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music / Soundcloud / YouTube