Following Agatha’s passing, Donaldson began composing new music as a way of navigating loss while celebrating a life shared together. The resulting album features an ensemble of distinctive voices drawn from across his musical journey, including vocalist Norma Winstone, drummer Jeff Ballard, saxophonist Iain Ballamy, guitarist Rob Luft, trumpeter Graeme Flowers, bassist Tom Mason and vocalist Rebecka Edlund.

Recorded over two days at Real World Studios in September 2025, the project united musicians connected to different chapters of Donaldson’s career. His relationship with Ballamy dates back to the late 1970s, while he first worked alongside Ballard during his years on the California jazz scene in the 1980s. His collaboration with Winstone stretches back to the 1990s, a period that included extensive touring and an appearance at the Monterey Jazz Festival.

Rather than relying on extensive rehearsal, the recording was built on trust, spontaneity and shared musical understanding. Several musicians arrived with little or no preparation, bringing their individual voices to compositions shaped by Donaldson’s lifelong commitment to improvisation, interaction and melody. The result balances lyrical writing with the responsiveness and energy of live ensemble performance.

That openness reflects Donaldson’s own musical path. After early classical training and studies with Stan Tracey, he went on to perform with artists including Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Wheeler, Art Farmer, Norma Winstone and Eric Alexander, while also building an extensive career in film, television and contemporary music. Winner of the piano category at the British Jazz Awards, he has long been recognised as one of the UK’s most distinctive jazz pianists.

Drawing on influences ranging from Bach and Ravel to the classic groups of Miles Davis and John Coltrane to name a few, Donaldson’s writing throughout We Were Together, I Forget the Rest is reflective, melodic and deeply human.

Dedicated to the memory of Agatha Coffey, the album is both a personal statement and a celebration of musical friendship, bringing together artists from different eras of Donaldson’s life to create music shaped by love, trust and shared experience.