JJJJJerome Ellis styles their name with five Js because it’s the word they stutter on the most. The artist, writer, composer and multi-instrumentalist has released a new album Vesper Sparrow which layers spoken word, vocals, saxophone, hammered dulcimer, organ, electronics and more. JJJJJerome speaks to Andrew Ford about the musical opportunities that speech disfluency provides, and what we can learn from the spaces and clearings between words.

And we get a chromatic harmonica masterclass from musician and composer Ariel Bart, who blends European jazz traditions with Middle Eastern music. She’s about to begin her debut Australian tour, teaming up with a local cellist and pianist.