Welsh jazz harpist Amanda Whiting has released a new single in advance of her upcoming album of seasonal favorites. The single, “Peace Piece,” is a reinterpretation of Bill Evans’ 1958 jazz classic and is available now via First Word Records.
This track is taken from the forthcoming album A Christmas Cwtch, which takes on assorted classics from composers such as jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, Holst, and Tchaikovsky, and re-presents them with original arrangements from Whiting and her accomplished trio. According to a press release, “A Christmas Cwtch exemplifies Amanda’s talent and personality simultaneously, celebrating an array of her favorite things; the harp, her Welshness, her love of jazz, her love of classical music and her love of Christmas.” The title track is an original composition written for Harp Column’s Tear-Out Tunes series.
Inspired by artists like Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane, Whiting is a classically trained virtuoso, well established in the UK jazz scene, with releases on Jazzman and Albert’s Favourites. Her most recent projects were released on the award-winning UK label First Word Records: Beyond the Midnight Sun (with label-mate and Welsh Music Prize nominee Don Leisure) and the 2024 album The Liminality of Her, which received a 10-star review from Harp Column.
Browse Whiting’s arrangements and originals on Harp Column Music. Learn more on her website.
