Jazz Oboe!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TIP8swMSi8&mode=related&search=

Just discovered this clip of Jean-Luc Fillon playing Jazz oboe in Paris. Really inspiring!. I have always been a great believer of playing the music you love on any instrument. This man pushes the boundaries and shows incredible technique and musicality. Go oboists!!

Watts and Waterstones.

Was amused to find myself in Waterstones tonight.

After the controversy caused by the new Associated board woodwind books, I was pleased to find a piece of mine in the grade 2 flute book. The piece is "Study in purple" and has a strong jazz feel. I think it will be quite a challenge for some grade two players until they get the tune and feel, but its fun.

Lunchtime symphony

I've been really quite busy, and am between projects trying to get organised. I was completely exhausted by making a Victoria sponge cake with my Mother this morning(!), so thought I'd have a lie down in the "quiet" at lunchtime.

I just listened for twenty minutes and was amazed at what sounds the wind was bringing in, (Children playing at a local school playground, a chain saw, trains, dogs barking, lorries, sirens, the wind in the trees,cars etc).

Its not till you stop, you notice all the things you miss because you are going too fast.

Someone once said, "Anythings dangerous at high speed". Perhaps we should all slow down, and listen.

Revised Razzamajazz!!!

The first revised Razzamajazz book arrived today!!!. new backing tracks, new pieces ( same old ones as well) two speeds and generally even better.

Recorder books1, 2 and 3, Flute books 1 and 2, Clarinet books 1 and 2 and saxophone books 1 and 2. COMING SOON!!!!!!!!!

Check this out

To hear Philip Achille ( age 18!!) play with the BBC concert orchestra at the proms this year click here!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci95dILGo_o&mode=related&search=

Jim Hughes

We have just had a really special afternoon. We were invited to a concert by Jim Hughes ( Chris's harmonica teacher) in his sisters front room!.

Jim is a harmonica legend. He is probably best known for playing the theme for "Last of the summer wine", but has for years been a renowned session player and soloist and is a very respected teacher.

Jim has just been appointed professor of harmonica at the Royal college of Music, where his pupil Phillip Achille is studying.

Philip also played in the "Front room soiree" today, trying out his pieces for the first round of "Young musician of the year"tomorrow (he got into the woodwind final last year). Philip was a soloist with the BBC Concert Orchestra at the proms a few weeks ago.

The harmonica playing this afternoon was very special , and it was a privilege to be yards away from such musical and virtuosic playing in someones front room!.

What made it even more special was that Jim played one of my pieces (brilliantly!).

Happy 80th birthday Sir John Dankworth!!

Can't believe it!! What a great guy!!

Do you rembember his incredible "Tommorows world" theme ?,what an inpired melody!! . Click here!!!http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://a603.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/1/s_e12a70425c43b7b069ec65616d3d0062.jpg&imgrefurl=http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm%3Ffuseaction%3Duser.viewprofile%26friendid%3D64989280&h=89&w=90&sz=3&hl=en&start=207&um=1&tbnid=rirudJkN12sNOM:&tbnh=77&tbnw=78&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522John%2BDankworth%2522%26start%3D198%26ndsp%3D18%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:*:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7HPEB%26sa%3DN

INSPIRED,

I have been booked for five teachers workshops during September and October, and the second one was today.
All five, are about something different!, so trying to prepare for them all has been a bit of a challenge.
Today I was talking to the Milton Keynes first and middle school teachers about my song book "Sixty Sizzling Songz". The book contains a lot of my songs, but also new zazzy arrangements of old favourites that are just too good to let go.
We enjoyed singing , and I felt enthusiastic about my book again!
If you are interested in choral works you will be inspired by this clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B78rrwSQB24

Chickens playing the piano!!

This is inspired!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqyFjVnWwto&mode=related&search=

Found this.

Found this picture, and it reminded me of a couple of double basses I have known and loved. One was a bass that was given to me by a member of my Mums dance band. The bass player was taking it to a gig on the top of his car (!!) and it fell off and broke into hundreds of pieces. The bass player was all for leaving it in the middle of the road, but my Mums friend took it home , glued it all together and gave it to me. It stood in the corner of my bedroom until the glue finally gave up and it exploded in the middle of the night.

The other bass was at the first school I ever taught at. It had a square panel cut out of the back, I was told it belonged to a magician who used it as a cocktail cabinet and produced rabbits from it.

Its was still capable of playing a few cool riffs.

Opportunities

Chloe is off to University today. I will really miss her, but I'm excited at all the things she will be doing. The course offers the opportunity to explore many musical paths and I'm really looking forward to regular updates about whats happening (big hint Chloe if you are reading this!).

To Cornwall!

I have just returned from a really pleasant trip to Cornwall. I was invited by the Cornwall music service to talk to their woodwind and brass teachers. It was lovely.

The trip down was inspiring in itself with the four hour train journey from London going a beautiful coastal route with quaint stations where you imagined Rupert bear to get off with his bucket and spade!.

I did a two session workshop talking about some ideas from my writing, and also a practical session of "on the spot ensemble" where we ( forty woodwind and brass teachers) wrote a piece on the spot and included some improvisation.

It was interesting (but not totally surprising) how many of the teachers were really scared of any form of improvisation, but we used "no fail recipes" to experiment and gain confidence.

In Razzamajazz two there are many pieces with a pattern formula that you can easily turn into ensemble with no music and simply learning accompaniment patterns.

This was the first of five workshops throughout the country in the next six weeks!( all about different things!!!!!!!!!). I was quite pleased to finally get into the twenty first century and amazed myself by a fully working PowerPoint presentation!! Onto the next!!!

Exciting times!!

This is actually quite an exciting time of the year for me (Sorry those who have just gone back to school and don't want to be there!). Its the time when lots of new people are discovering my books and the time of year when I get a bit of feedback.

The big news is that "Red Hot Recorder" has been the BEST SELLING RECORDER TUTOR for the last two months on the Musicroom website (the biggest online music store world wide and a good indication of trends). John Pitts is still the best seller of all time but its exciting to be number one!!.

Another exciting thing has been discovering an ad for workshops in Australia showing classroom teachers how to teach recorder to their classes using "Red Hot" (perhaps I should have a trip out to promote it!).

Just starting the rounds of a few workshops I'm doing for teachers in the next few months. The first is in Cornwall soon

Legends.

As John Dankworth and Cleo Laine both approach their 80th birthdays(!), I was excited to find this clip that would make anyone SMILE.

This was a golden time for them, and for me too. I was very influenced by both of them, and remember singing along with this song off stage with Jacqui in the old Stables. Watch it all through!. I think Mozart would have enjoyed this.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqjr6tDAhtM

This is beautiful

One of my favourite CD's is John Dankworth's "Fairoak Fusions"

. It was commissioned for the Fairoak Festival, and was written for Jazz quartet, Sax quartet,and cello. I have just found this clip of John and Julian Lloyd Webber playing one of the movements from it. Its worth a watch, this tune is particularly nice.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW1IsRkXCRs

OUT NOW!!!

Kevin Mayhew Ltd have released a CD of Jacqui Dankworth singing my Sizzling Songz. There are lots of fun kids songs (old and new), and there are only.....shopping days till Christmas. For More details and chance to hear a few seconds (!) of a couple of tracks click the link to my publications at the top of the page.

Raring to go?

We are back from being away. It was a nice relaxing time before the busy diary that looks scarily close.

I always get really inspired when we're away and often come back with scraps of paper covered with ideas for some crazy scheme or with lists of things I want to achieve like lose weight, eat sensibly, make jam with all the blackberries I collected, or write a serious choral work.

Many a fine choral work has been inspired in a beautiful surrounding ( Beach House Cafe, Skiff skiffle, I've got the EBGB's.... to name a few).

I was particularly inspired by this fairground organ at Dartmouth Regatta. The music may sound mechanical, but the arrangements are inspired. Some musician somewhere penned those inspiring and rousing arrangements, some unknown forgotten ( probably penniless) musician.