jazz education – Simon Purcell

American jazz educator Charlie Banacos – quotes and more

I was surfing the website of David Valdez and came across the tributes to and Ph.D about the American jazz educator Charlie Banacos. This man was a very significant figure and worth investigating if like me, you are unaware of his work (see CasaValdez for more information)… Just for starters some of the saying attributed to him: “IfContinue reading “American jazz educator Charlie Banacos – quotes and more”

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If Music be the Food of Love…

If Music be the Food of Love, a response to Phil’s Robson’s FaceBook post. Kate Williams is right in her comments on Phil Robson’s original post, it is definitely a political issue. It is a matter of values, and as artists we are in the “values business”. We assign so much of our energy andContinue reading “If Music be the Food of Love…”

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Graham Collier 1937 – 2011

Jazz education in the UK owes an enormous amount to Graham Collier (alongside Eddie Harvey and Lionel Grigson) without whom our current positions and extent of provision would been considerably harder to achieve. As well as being an instigator of projects for young jazz musicians, Graham was an articulate and politically astute advocate for theContinue reading “Graham Collier 1937 – 2011”

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Jazz Summer Schools

Yes, its about to start, another “silly season”, the Jazz Summer School season. Actually, many of us feel that this is a special and immensely valuable time for aspiring musicians to immerse themselves and experience the music in a concentrated fashion. It is my understanding that great British composers of the mid-twentieth century such asContinue reading “Jazz Summer Schools”

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The Silly Season (not the football season)

Footballer X has refused a £50,000-a-week salary plus a bonus payment of £500,000. Footballer Y is reputed to earn £250,000 a week. The teaching budget for all Arts and Humanities subjects within the University Sector is cut by 100%. I wonder who practices more, footballers or violinists, goalkeepers or pianists. No contest if England’s recentContinue reading “The Silly Season (not the football season)”