release date: 04.09.2026 via Chill Tone Records
Momentism, out September 4, 2026 via Chill Tone Records, features the London-based pianist with bassist Conor Chaplin, drummer Luke Tomlinson and veteran saxophonist Iain Ballamy on a set of emotionally moving and melodically enticing original music“…one of the biggest talents of British jazz piano.” – Jay Rayner, The Observer
“…piano rising star Jamie Safir.” – John Fordham, The Guardian
“Safir plays with wonderful judgment, delicacy and alertness. If he is good now he is only getting better.” – Sebastian Scotney, UK Jazz News
Jamie Safir seems to be having a moment. For the last decade and a half, the Manchester-born, Londonbased pianist was content to dwell just to one side of the spotlight, maintaining a thriving career as the accompanist of choice for a host of jazz and pop singers. Safir duetted with the Aussie “Princess of Pop,” Kylie Minogue, on the revered stage of Royal Albert Hall; he’s a staple at the landmark London jazz club RonnieScott’s, including his role as host of the club’s first-ever weekly vocal jam session; he has toured the world withand penned a Christmas single for singer-songwriter Will Young, winner of the ITV series Pop Idol; he’senjoyed a fruitful collaboration with the award-winning singer and actor Ian Shaw, co-writing and producing the 2022 album Greek Street Friday and teaming with Shaw and saxophonist Iain Ballamy on the trio project What’s New; and has performed and recorded with the likes of Annie Lennox, Laufey, Jessie Ware, Veronica Swift, Jamie Cullum and Snarky Puppy collaborator Judi Jackson.
The focus finally shifted in 2022, when Safir premiered his one-man show “Piano Talk” at Ronnie Scott’s and the Soho cabaret Crazy Coqs. Directed by the award-winning singer and actor Ian Shaw, the show is a blend of songs and storytelling, in the course of which Safir shares offbeat stories from his life in music, and has enjoyed a series of successful performances in the UK and on a transatlantic cruise aboard the Queen Mary 2 luxury liner. Safir’s engaging original music, and his innate ability to connect with an audience, caught the ear of Chill Tone Records, which approached the pianist about recording for the label.
The result is Momentism, Safir’s debut release as a bandleader and composer. The album, released September 4, 2026, features a core trio with bassist Conor Chaplin (Jacob Collier, Marius Neset) and drummer Luke Tomlinson (Callum Au, Labi Siffre), supplemented on more than half of the tracks by the renowned British tenor saxophonist Iain Ballamy, a founding member of the pioneering ‘80s big band Loose Tubes and close collaborator with pianist Django Bates, among others. Coming together at a crucial time in Safir’s life, Momentism became a project nearly as autobiographical as his solo show. The material spans his career as a composer, from his college days to the weeks leading up to the recording date. “I’ve been writing, recording and performing properly for 15 years,” Safir says. “It’s been exciting to travel around the world doing that,but I was never the artist; I was never the focus. The folks at Chill Tone really believed in me and put a lot of energy and effort into making this album happen. It happened at a moment when my life was going through a lot of vicissitudes, with the end of a seven-year relationship and amove to the seaside after 10 years in London. It was a pretty mad time, and a lot of that emotion is in the album.”
Growing up in Manchester, Safir could hardly help but be immersed in music. He was driven to school in his teens by Johnny Marr of The Smiths, whose son was in a band with Safir, along with the son of Paul Abbott, creator of the TV series Shameless. He delivered newspapers to Oasis guitarist Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs. Add to that his father’s roots in the Fab Four’s hometown of Liverpool, growing up on the very street that also spawned John Lennon. “I grew up in a city with an amazing musical culture and history,” Safir says. “My first concert was Paul McCartney. Astonishingly, there was a jazz club on my street in this little suburb of Manchester. I worked there as the sound engineer from the age of 13 (which I think was technically illegal), but I got to support a lot of the British artists who passed through, including legendary acts like Georgie Fame, who let me use his iconic Hammond Organ for my support slot.”
Hailing from the home of Factory Records, the Madchester scene and the foundational roots of Britpop, and sharing the stage with some of British pop’s biggest names, Safir naturally composes music with an ear to approachability, with a strong sense of lyricism and melodicism. (Some of that is inborn as well. “I had a school teacher who complained that the only positive attribute I possessed was charm,” he recalls with a chuckle … And that charm is useless.”)
“I think that a popular sensibility will always exist in my music,” the pianist explains. “I’m as influenced by the songs of James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Rufus Wainwright and Burt Bacharach as I am by Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. Steely Dan was my favorite band growing up, and still is.” One of the things that I love about jazz is that it’s one of those genres that assimilates and absorbs a variety of influences. Those formative experiences also exposed Safir to struggles and temptations which, coupled with the challenges of growing up a gay man in middle-class Britain, lend his music a hard-earned emotional edge. All of that comes through in the central concept of the album. “The idea of Momentism is about struggling to be present in the moment, which is a necessity in jazz but also in life,” he says. “But it also has to do with making decisions in the moment that feel good now but may be damaging later down the line.” Momentism thus distills a still-young lifetime of experiences – exhilarating and tragic, heartbreaking and joyous – into nine confessional and enticing new songs. The album is both moving and infectious, an extended moment to savor.
Jamie Safir
Originally from Manchester, the London-based pianist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer Jamie Safir is in high demand across the UK and Europe, having worked with some of the most renowned names in jazz and popular music. He has performed with the likes of Kylie Minogue, Laufey, Annie Lennox, Veronica Swift and Jamie Cullum, and is a popular fixture at the revered London jazz club Ronnie Scott’s. In 2020, Safir recorded the album What’s New with vocalist Ian Shaw and saxophonist Iain Ballamy, both award-winning stars of the European jazz scene. His debut solo show “Piano Talk,” co-written and directed by Radio 2 Jazz singer of theyear Ian Shaw, was premiered at the Crazy Coqs cabaret and at Ronnie Scott’s in 2022 to sold-out audiences.