Ribbons Vol. 1 (Special Edition)

* Ribbons is released on 20th February 2026 on CD and all digital platforms with Stoney Lane Records.

Sara Colman and Rebecca Nash, the compelling vocalist-songwriter and pianist-composer duo, are to release their absorbing new collaboration Ribbons in February 2026 with Stoney Lane Records – an album of poignant original writing, improvisations and new artistic directions.

Featuring a host of notable guest artists, the album is built around a jazz sensibility, with Colman and Nash’s evocative ‘story-songs’ forging threads from the folk, classical, improvised and songwriter worlds, with influences as diverse as Rickie Lee Jones, Quercus, Joni Mitchell and Debussy.

Drawing inspiration from the creative partnership of Ellington and Strayhorn, the harmonic language of John Taylor, and the artistry of lyricist/vocalist Norma Winstone, the long-term collaborators’ strong bond as both friends and artists was central to the album’s creation. During the summer of 2020, when the world was turned upside down, Sara and Rebecca took up residence in a house in a forest with only each other and some chickens for company, and set about writing. Founded on a song they wrote together – Ribbons – the resulting collection of new works celebrates the joy of musical partnership, friendship and collaboration.

The opening track, Noble Heart, featuring acclaimed saxophonist Iain Ballamy, is at the centre of the album’s spirit for Colman. “I was working on melody and lyrics for Palladium, one of Rebecca’s compositions, whilst at the same time, helping a close friend clear out and say goodbye to her partner’s house in southern Spain for the last time. The prevailing sense of loss reminded me of a feeling of searching for something that you know is already lost or that you’ve not yet found: a deep yearning. I discovered that the precious noble metal Palladium has an ash-like quality, and needs to be deeply mined. This track represents the inner light that exists at the heart of all of us – a light that can sometimes feel hidden or difficult to access.”

Pianist Rebecca, cited by Downbeat Magazine as being “at the vanguard of innovative and compelling new music”, has released two albums under her own name – Redefining Element 78 (2022), and Peaceful King (2019) – from which the instrumental track Little Light is now reimagined for Ribbons Vol. 1. Featuring Trish Clowes on tenor saxophone, Sara’s lyrics for the track are inspired by revival and awakening from a darker place, opening with a moody dissonant multilayered harmony passing between the trio.

A more playful moment is felt in Sophie’s Song, a reworking of Night Dreamer by Wayne Shorter, and the only ‘borrowed’ idea on the recording. Inspired by multiple late-night dashes here and there to try and catch the Northern Lights with their Aurora-hunting friend Sophie Bancroft, this image is virtuosically perceived in Rebecca’s extraordinary piano solo which plays out to the end of the track.

Bristol-born Colman has worked with some of the leading lights in British music, including Laura Mvula, Liane Carroll and Mahalia, performing at the BBC Proms and Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage in recent years, with her two previous albums on Stoney Lane – What We’re Made Of (2018) and Ink On A Pin: A Celebration of Joni Mitchell (2021) – receiving a series of glowing reviews. “…unfailingly beautiful, richly expressive voice.” – Jazzwise

In 2019, she was commissioned by the American Canales Project Hear Her Song to write a piece celebrating the life of Sakena Yacoobi, an Afghan activist who has spent her life fighting for the rights of children and women to education in Afghanistan. This gave rise to The Gardener (also featuring Iain Ballamy) – the voice of the narrator is that of a student from one of the many of the schools Sakeena set up, speaking of their own desire for their lives along with huge love for their teacher.

Nash, too, is a prolific performer, featuring at Jazzahead! 2025; the Lotus Code tour – a UK-Japan collaboration at the Southbank; BBC Radio 3’s J to Z studio session and live broadcasts from the Manchester and Marsden Jazz Festivals, alongside appearances at Jazz In The Round, and leading jazz festivals in London, Cheltenham, Love Supreme, Cambridge and Bristol.

The album’s title track, with trumpeter Percy Pursglove, represents the search for that ‘elusive ‘something’, says Nash. “It’s symbolic of human existence – focused on the strands that bind us together. We were trying to find inspiration to write about something that would represent an artists’ quest to create. Ribbons was our first collaborative song and has become symbolic of our working relationship.”

The album artwork, too, followed a similar path. Created by Swiss-born, UK-based artist Vivienne Schadinsky, it was discovered by Rebecca – spotted on a friend’s wall by chance. Symbiocene 1 (from a series of six) became the striking visual identity for Ribbons Vol. 1, with its themes of interconnectedness and renewal, resonating deeply with the spirit of the album.

* Ribbons is released on 20th February 2026 on CD and all digital platforms with Stoney Lane Records.

releases February 13, 2026

Sara Colman – Vocals
Rebecca Nash – Piano
with
Iain Ballamy – Tenor Saxophone (Noble Heart & Gardener)
Percy Pursglove – Flugelhorn (Ribbons)
Trish Clowes – Tenor Saxophone (Little Light)
Steve Banks – Guitar (Sophie’s Song)
Ruth Hammond – Bass Clarinet (Night Traveller)
Henrik Jensen – Double Bass
Jonathan Silk – Drums

Produced by Ben Markland.
Recorded, mixed, mastered by Niccolo Conti & Ben Markland.
Recorded at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire between 2021 and 2024.

Cover art – Vivienne Schadinsky
Design – Keith Dodds