If you’re looking for the perfect album to welcome spring (finally!), I recommend Realms – a beautiful collection of songs, written and performed by the very talented Rachel Sutton.

I was lucky to receive a preview of this ten-track collection, which is released on 27 March (2026) by 33 Jazz Records.

Realms has been described as Rachel’s best work so far, capturing the magic of her stage performances, while adding nuances and techniques, which only a studio recording can produce.

The album was launched with a live show at one of London’s best known jazz venues, Pizza Express, Soho, this week (10 March). But for those of us who weren’t there, the album will soon be available, and I thoroughly recommend it.

Rachel has a remarkable voice – smooth and clear, like a cool hillside stream on a hot summer’s day.

And she demonstrates her writing ability with this super collection of songs, ranging from the powerful, heartbreaking The Jester and the Jewel to the simple, nolstagic joy of Daytrip.

It’s no surprise to discover Rachel is theatrcally trained and has appeared in award-winning shows at the Edinburgh and New York Fringe festivals. Her theatrical training shines through in her performances and in the tales these beautiful songs tell.  

And her band deserves huge credit too – Roland Perrin on piano, Michael Curtis Ruiz on bass, and Paul Robinson on drums.

If Realms are the places we inhabit, this album does a great job of capturing so many of them in all their variety of experience and emotion.

“Realms is a world made up of many parts, drawing on stories from different moments in  my life,” said Rachel. “As a result, each piece is entirely its own. Together, they form a landscape that is cross-genre  by nature—an eclectic blend of emotions, sounds, and sensations.

“Every song on this album tells its own story. Drawing on  my theatrical background, I’ve woven in moments of drama and humour, and I hope the result is something  deeply personal yet universally resonant – something listeners can find themselves reflected in.”

Realms certainly achieves that, and you can find out more on Rachel’s website.

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