Late Night Jazz: Raffy Bushman

Raffy Bushman has been a key voice in the UK jazz underground for several years.From his early piano trio projects - rooted in exploring the symbiotic relationship between jazz and hip-hop - through to his innovate classical crossover explorations with his string quintet, NuShape Orchestra and Unit 31, heʼs an artist steeped in the jazz tradition of recontextualisation, innovation and exploration.Fast forward to 2026, and Raffy has returned to where he started - back with his trusted piano trio, but this time with the weight of many more years of creative and lived experience behind him.Releasing on Friday 5 June via Bridge The Gap, his debut album ‘New Lifeʼ was created in the context of a blossoming relationship, followed by the news of the imminent arrival of him and his partnerʼs first child.The album soundtracks this love, and the establishment of a new family unit. Raffy shares: “I had no shortage of inspiration for this album. I met my girlfriend as I was starting the compositions, and we discovered that she was pregnant a few months later. Our daughter was born not long after finishing the project."