On Fools and Clowns is set for release on September 18th, 2026 via Trash City Records.

Functioning as a musical diary, the record reflects three years of navigating London’s rising costs, freelance insecurity and the search for artistic identity. Its eleven tracks draw inspiration from everyday experiences: difficult landlords, workplace frustrations, family relationships, close friendships, and the musicians who shaped Widdowson’s creative voice.

The album also serves as a love letter to improvised music and its history. Widdowson traces a lineage from stride pioneer Willie “The Lion” Smith through Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Sun Ra and Jaki Byard – artists whose individuality and fearlessness encouraged him to embrace his own musical personality. Alongside Widdowson, the trio features bassist Joe MacLaren (Finn Carter, Tedd Maul, Cool Quiet) and a shared drum chair between Jordan Hadfield  (Wulu, Yazmin Lacey, Jungle, Oska T, Maddy Coombs) and Charlie Hutchinson (Pyjaen). Central to the group’s identity is a commitment to personality over perfection.

That philosophy was forged through regular performances in Soho, where new material was tested and reshaped in front of audiences long before entering the studio. By the time recording began aboard a boat on the Thames, the trio was steeped in a sense of trust and spontaneity. Determined to preserve that energy, the band recorded the album as complete live sets rather than constructing tracks piece by piece. Song orders changed, arrangements shifted, and unexpected ideas were introduced in real time, allowing each performance to retain the unpredictability that sits at the heart of the trio’s music.

The result is an album that embraces contradiction. Humour sits alongside seriousness. Beauty collides with ugliness. Moments of tenderness are followed by bursts of chaos. A tune inspired by a mould-ridden rental house shares space with a heartfelt dedication to family; a celebration of artistic community sits alongside reflections on financial pressure and creative self-doubt.

Winner of the 2025 Tina May Jazz Award and a member of the Peter Whittingham Award-winning Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band, Widdowson has quickly established himself as one of the most distinctive young pianists on the UK scene. With On Fools and Clowns, he presents an album rooted in jazz tradition, shaped by contemporary realities, and driven by a belief that music can be funny, vulnerable, messy and deeply human all at once.