Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Yazz Ahmed: A Paradise In The Hold

Yazz Ahmed: A Paradise In The Hold

By Don Ball
September 10, 2025
View read count

Yazz Ahmed

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Yazz Ahmed's music has focused on combining her love of jazz with her Bahrani heritage since her first recording in 2011, and with her release, A Paradise in the Hold (Night Time Stories, 2025), she adds a new component: voice. With lyrics in both English and Arabic, Ahmed uses stories and music from her childhood in Bahrain as the seed for this collection of songs, originating about a decade ago when she traveled back to Bahrain to complete a commissioned work, "Alhaan Al Siduri."

Ahmed uses the voices as additional instruments in the mix, sometimes using two vocalists at once singing different phrases (whether singing lyrics or wordlessly), adding to the textures of the songs. The vocalists—

Natacha Atlas

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Natacha Atlas,

Brigitte Beraha

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Brigitte Beraha,

Randolph Matthews

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Randolph Matthews, Alba Nacinovich and Jason Singh—do an outstanding job with the material, but Atlas especially stands out on the tunes she is featured on, having an achingly beautiful, expressive voice. Her vocal on the opening number "She Stands on the Shore," weaving between

Samy Bishai

violin

" data-original-title="" title="">Samy Bishai's violin and Ahmed's flugelhorn, sets the mood for the album.

A host of additional colors are added to the palettes of the songs, including bass clarinet by

George Crowley

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">George Crowley, vibraphone and marimba by

Ralph Wyld

vibraphone

" data-original-title="" title="">Ralph Wyld, Fender Rhodes keyboards by

Naadia Sheriff

synthesizer

" data-original-title="" title="">Naadia Sheriff and

Alcyona Mick

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Alcyona Mick, percussion by

Corrina Silvester

percussion

" data-original-title="" title="">Corrina Silvester and various electronic programming. Crowley and Wyld especially shine on the title track, the album's one instrumental, accenting and echoing Ahmed's superb solo. The percussionists, together with

Dudley Phillips

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Dudley Phillips on bass and

Martin France

drums
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Martin France on drums, create strong rhythms and shifting tempos on which the other musicians can engage. Altogether, it creates a rich sound that allows the vocals and Ahmed's crystal-clear sound on trumpet and flugelhorn to float above. Ahmed, working with co-producer

Noel Langley

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Noel Langley, layers the various instruments and voices to create lush soundscapes to tell her narratives, incorporating Arabic scales and phrasing with traditional jazz elements.

Known as one of the finest young trumpeters on the British jazz scene, Ahmed has demonstrated her prowess as a composer as well. She notes on her website, "It's another step in my evolution of making music." It is a step well worth taking with her.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

She Stands On The Shore; A Paradise In The Hold; Mermaids' Tears; Her Light; Al Naddaha; Dancing Barefoot; Into The Night; Though My Eyes Go To Sleep, My Heart Does Not Forget You; To The Lonely Sea; Waiting For The Dawn.

Personnel

Yazz Ahmed

trumpet

Additional Instrumentation

Yazz Ahmed: flugelhorn, handclaps, programming & ululations; George Crowley: bass clarinet & handclaps (2, 8); Ralph Wyld: vibraphone, marimba (1, 8) & handclaps (2, 8); Naadia Sheriff: Fender Rhodes (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10), piano (4, 6, 9), Roland JX-03 (1, 10) & handclaps (2, 8); Dudley Phillips: bass (1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 10) & handclaps (2, 8); Martin France: drums & handclaps (2, 8); Corrina Silvester: percussion & handclaps (1, 2, 7, 8); Alcyona Mick: Fender Rhodes (4, 5, 9); Samuel H?llkvist: guitars (2, 4, 9); Dave Manington: bass (4, 5, 9); Natacha Atlas: voice (1, 4, 8); Brigitte Beraha: voice (3, 4, 5, 6) & handclaps (2, 8); Randolph Matthews: voice (3, 9, 10); Alba Nacinovich: voice (6, 8); Jason Singh: voice (9) & additional programming (2, 3, 5, 8, 9); Samy Bishai: violin (1); Noel Langley: flugelhorn (2, 4), handclaps (7) & additional programming (1).

Album information

Title: A Paradise In The Hold | Year Released: 2025 | Record Label: Night Time Stories

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Dreams And Dust: Two From Pianist Iz...
< Previous

Miles '55: The Prestige Recordings
Next >

Yazz Ahmed Concerts

Nov 16 Sun

Yazz Ahmed

Ronnie Scott's
London, UK

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.