SUPPORTING EMERGING JAZZ TALENT AT ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC BIG BAND

A pro jazz musician and successful pop session keyboard player in London’s fertile jazz, pop music and musical theater scenes for many years, I directed the Royal College of Music Big Band from 1999-2007 (pictured above). I have different hair now, but the shirts and facial expressions are much the same!

In the process, I coached and led some of the top young jazz musicians in the UK. I learnt about their needs, and as an educator, I longed for them to be set free, to truly engage with the world as musical learners. It puzzles me that, exactly because their talent was so special, such gifted and talented human beings should be restricted from the performance opportunities offered to so many other musicians their age. It is only by making relationship through music that any musician can learn why music is important. And relationship is what music is for.

Below are two recordings from my final concert with the RCM big band in June 2007, the day the photos above were taken. The first is part of Maria Schneider’s original composition ‘Hanggliding’, and the second is an extract from Quincy Jones’s classic ‘Quintessence’:

At this gig, a big PR opportunity for us, the RCM big band recorded the first ever jazz CD produced by the Royal College of Music. This included several movements from Maria Schneider’s Grammy-winning suite ‘Allegresse’. Other tunes included Pat Metheny’s ‘Minuano’ and arrangements by Bob Brookmeyer, Bill Dobbins and the unique Clayton-Hamilton band.