It must have been late last summer that I first heard the name Joe Webb. It would have been around the announcement of the Mercury Prize Shortlist. There are lots of different music awards ceremonies, but the Mercury prize stands on its own. In a world where success can sometimes only be measured in sales, streams or downloads the Mercury Prize seeks to reward the very best of new British and Irish Albums regardless of how commercially successful that album has been.
There were 2 reason the name Joe Webb stood out to me. Firstly he was a Jazz Pianist, interesting, and secondly he was Welsh.
Of course the first thing I did was to search him out on the internet. Well, to be honest, from his pictures he didn’t look like a proper jazz pianist. He didn’t have a pork pie hat or 1am stubble. He looked almost cherubic, fresh face with slightly wild strawberry blond hair and wearing an outfit that looked more Oasis than Oscar Peterson.
I don’t want to sound like one of those grumpy old guys but these days it really is hard to tell if every musician can actually play their instrument or really sing in tune. The technology is so amazing that it can do these for you in the studio.
In fact AI can now write the song, music and lyrics and churn out a fully completed record with the use of a few well chosen ‘prompts’ as they call them. Only this week I was played a wonderful recording on an Irish pub band singing ‘Mad World’. It had all of the elements of fiddles, banjos and a wonderful Irish lead vocal that apparently had never seen of a pub, only the inside of a massive computer.
In football the question is ‘Can He do it on a cold wet Tuesday evening at Stoke’. The Mercury Prize has the equivalent question for every shortlisted artist, can they do it in front of thousands of people on a cold October evening in Newcastle?
The 2025 Mercury Prize Shortlist had some well-seasoned and commercially successful artists on the bill. Pulp aren’t exactly newcomers, but their album ‘More’ marked a major return for a band that has been making fine records for nearly 50 years. For Sam Fender it was a home gig. His recent success has been accompanied by critical acclaim. Martin Carthy is an 84 folk singer who has performed for over 60 years. An eclectic mix but all well used to performing in public without the aid of a computerised safety net. This was the perfect arena for Joe Webb.
Joe’s performance on the night starts off with some amazing virtuoso flourishes, up and down the keyboard with the confidence of a 1930’s Chicago Bordello In House Jazz man looking to grab the attention of a Mafia boss. For Joe there is no dinner jacket or suit or bow tie. This jazz man wears a flowery hoodie which I think was inspired by Liam Gallagher and he wears it well. And then Joe hits his stride, literally.
This is a stride piano style, high energy jazz piano with a left hand that keeps the beat while the right hand dances with the melody. It’s not easy. When I’ve tried I think I have a 20% percentage success rate at hitting the right notes with either hand. Joe just sits there and commands the piano. I’s like he’s been doing it all his life…and that’s because he has.
These days I only seem to bump into old friends at funerals and wakes. It was at such an event last December that I bumped into Phil. Phil was one of those who came to all of my early ‘Malvin Bishop’s Originals’ gigs around the pubs of Swansea back in the late 1970’s. Over the years we have kept in touch sometimes more randomly than others. On the morning of the new Millennium I was returning from a gig at the foot of the Newport Transporter Bridge. As I drove along Fabian Way I could see flashing blue lights. I was tired but knew I would pass any breathalyser test as I had been working and as the saying goes, ‘drink?…never on duty sir’. As I wound down the window all I saw was Phil’s big friendly face saying, ‘Happy New Year Mal!!!’.
This wake was special as through grief it had brought together so many old friends. None of us wanted the afternoon to end. It was only just before I left that Phil asked if I had heard his step son’s music. ‘What’s his name’, I asked…’Joe Webb’ was the reply. I sat back down, ‘You mean the Mercury nominated Jazz pianist?’
Joe and Phil
Joe’s mum started telling me about how obsessed Joe had been about playing the piano. He was obviously gifted as a child but his love for piano meant he played night and day. After studying at the Royal Welsh College of Music Joe headed for London. The saying goes ‘he never looked back’ but that’s not quite true here. Joe has always paid tribute to his Welsh roots even returning for the World Cup semi-final this week.
It was only a few weeks ago that I got a message on Instagram. I’m usually quite sceptical when I get an unsolicited message request. I always think it’s someone trying to scam me. It actually took a few days to look at it properly before fully intending to delete and block the sender. The message talked about this person’s step dad named Phil. He had a gig in Swansea on 15th April and wondered if I wanted to come. Then it clicked…Joe Webb.
We arranged to have a bit of a catch up chat. I told him some stories about his step father and he, a little reluctantly, started to tell me about what he was up to and who he was working with. I say reluctantly because this was no boastful young man. I mean the Mercury Prize is a big deal and could go to a musician’s head, but Joe played it down.
I had a feeling there was lots to talk about. ‘What are you working on at the moment?’ It turned out Joe has been working on the new Raye album. That was released this week. It’s a glorious mix of new and old and on the tracks that feature Joe’s piano playing his unique style shines through. He’s recently been on tour with the actor Damien Lewis and he’s played for legendary jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis who said of Joe’s band ‘These cats are swingin’. Oh, and he’s also a Professor of Jazz at the Royal Academy of Music.
‘Apart from the concert in Swansea…are you gigging much?’ First off Joe had a tour with his own trio right across Europe and he hoped to soon be playing in the USA. What he forgot to mention was that he is going to be a special guest on the Jools Holland Autumn UK Tour. I suppose its no surprise that Joe got that invite. If you were up late on New Years Eve and tuned into the Jools Holland Hootenanny you would have seen Joe sat alongside Jools playing a duet of the classic ‘Black Eyes’.
I connected Joe with a friend this week who I thought might be a useful contact. I actually told him that when he sent the email, ‘Don’t be too modest’. Maybe that’s why so many people love Joe Webb’s music and love the man too.
Joe Webb Trio Swansea Grand Wednesday 15th April 2026
https://www.swanseagrand.co.uk/article/41849/Swansea-Jazzland-Joe-Webb-Trio