You’ve worked with Tom Rainey before on the album And Other Desert Towns, how is your latest album with him different? “Tom and I have worked together since 2007. We play in a number of groups and have played a lot of composed as well as improvised music together – our duo being […]
Trombonist and composer Tom Green is a graduate of the Royal Academy jazz course and his septet released their debut album last year to critical acclaim. He appears later this month at The Verdict in Brighton as part of the successful New Generation Jazz series. How did you first get into jazz? […]
What process do you go through to create a piece of music? “I develop pieces through a process of composition and improvisation. I create sonic spaces for musicians to explore and then often work with ‘blind improvisation’ where I give no prior guidance before recording. The performances that comes from a master musician exploring an […]
Tell us about your first inspiration for playing the saxophone. “I wanted to play the sax ever since I saw someone playing it on Top of the Pops! This was when i was about 10. When I started playing I was really into Hank Crawford, and then one of my older brothers got me […]
What has been your personal experience of music education? “I learnt piano and violin at school, but got bored with the rigid approach. I think I’m a bit dyslexic when it comes to reading musical notes on a page, so found it very tricky (and still do). I’ve always found it much easier to […]
Born Denise White and raised in Chester, Pennsylvania (on the outskirts of Philadelphia), she had an upbringing filled with music, especially church gospel music. She started learning to play piano from the age of seven and attended Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia where she studied piano, graduating with a degree in philosophy. Appointed […]
American saxophonist Peter Fraize will be staying in Brighton for a few weeks in June and July and will be playing gigs at various venues (see below). Peter is a saxophonist, composer and teacher based in Washington DC. He has been a distinct voice in the jazz world for nearly three decades and is known […]
Tell us about how you first got into playing music. “Initially as a young lad, I was influenced by many guitarists such as Hendrix, Angus Young, John Williams and more which got me interested in both rock and classical guitar. I played a bit in my early years but was into the 90's Rave […]
Donna Lewis had a global hit in 1996 with ‘I Love You Always Forever’ a song that exceeded one million ‘spins’ on the radio. Her latest album Brand New Day takes the Welsh born singer in a completely new direction. Featuring musicians Ethan Iverson, Reid Anderson and David King, the album is an intimate, […]
What was it like studying with legendary drum teacher Alan Dawson? “My main purpose in going to Berklee College of Music in 1968 was to study with Alan. Already legendary, at the time he had so many students there that he was reduced to giving weekly half hour lessons. Those would often turn out to […]