The first track I wrote horns for on this album was 'What You Talkin' 'Bout''. It proved to be the most collaborative arrangement I've ever done in fact. The original brief from Phil was "plenty of hooks and a big Paul Simon/Graceland...
In the autumn of 2019, I became involved in the debut album project of Lancashire-based guitarist Phil Johari. Phil is a versatile writer and player and takes real care over his creative process and when I was drafted in as an arranger,...
I've loved the music of Django Reinhardt since I became aware of him as a keen jazz beginner in the summer of 2005. His cheeky style captured my musical imagination and I still play his records if I need cheering up.
Here is a nifty little finger-twister that can be used as a springboard for further exploration.
The theory behind diminished scales is fascinating and the naming of the notes and intervals contained therein is a contentious issue among musicologists - 13/6/bb7 anyone?
John ‘Rhino’ Edwards has had a varied career to say the least but is perhaps best known for being the longest-serving bass player in UK rock band ‘Status Quo’ after joining full-time in 1986. He has also worked with Peter Green, Cliff Richard (on Dave Clark’s ‘Time’),...
I've recently been rediscovering the music I listened to as a teenager and, love them or hate them, Level 42 always feature in that list for me (thanks Scott!). Mark King's basslines are engaging and the funk-pop grooves still float my boat. Revisiting the music that...
I've been away for quite a while! I'm still out and about playing, teaching and recording but I've neglected my blog for many months! Is there anything you'd like to see here? Let me know!
This is a great track from Wooten's debut album 'A Show of Hand...
John Edwards is possibly the bassist that has had most effect on my own playing - his quirky use of the upper register for his rock style and his super funky Stanley Clarke like lines for the Judie Tzuke records in the 70s & 80s have been a source of real inspiration f...
Jaco Pastorius was a big fan of practising turnaround lines (they tend to round off a chorus of jazz or blues) and making up lines that imposed extended chords on simple harmony so I thought I’d have a go at putting one of my own together. Practice this in all 12 keys...
This week, I started working through some ideas for jazz improvisation with VERY BASIC ii V I arpeggio-based lines and I have posted three of them here.
