Sam’s in his final week of the 3 year jazz course at Leeds College of Music (LCM), from which he’ll hopefully be graduating with a solid BMus in June! Sam is a brilliant player and has rightfully been building a reputable name for himself, particularly on the northern jazz scene – regularly playing the best Jazz venues in Leeds – such as Sela Bar, The Wardrobe, Seven Jazz, etc. So when Sam decided to come along for a rehearsal with my trio – I was very excited! Many of my latest compositions have been written from the outset, with an upright bass in mind – and so its been very important for me to find such a competent player who can commit to the trio on a more permanent basis.

And what a start it has been for Sam! We had our first gig on Friday 11th May back at the South Square Arts Centre, in Thornton, Bradford. This was to accompany an exhibition in the Gallery, playing some atmospheric jazz, as part of the centre’s 30th Anniversary weekend. But rather than simply being background music – I was startled to see that people were pulling up chairs to sit down and listen to us! And they listened with such intent – staying perfectly silent during the performance, and clapping with such vigour after each final note faded to its timely silence.

This was a fascinating experience – and one which really sympathised with my compositions well. Indeed we premiered 2 brand-new pieces at the event – ‘Silently Evolving’ and ‘Into the Spring’. These are two very soft pieces – heavily influenced by the work of Tord Gustavsen – but really groove in places. David’s drumming was really fitting for them – and despite us having never even rehearsed the latter piece together – he clearly knew the sound I was after! The acoustic was perfect for them too – with every note resonating cleanly off the white-washed, stone walls.

We also played the material from my Candescence EP – which seemed to go down a treat, selling many copies of the EP! Sam played some awesome counter-melodies in these, and his soloing really suited the mood well. I simply cannot wait to get some of this new material recorded!

So I hope that’s given you an idea of what to expect from my New Trio. If you want to hear us next time, we’re playing at the Gaslight Club, at Oporto Bar on Call Lane, Leeds on 28th May – I hope to see you there!

Finally, I’d like to just wish Sam all the best for his final recital, which is on Wednesday! Good luck Sam! And also I’d like to thank the South Square for having us back here again – it was an absolute pleasure to play!

R

Stay tuned,
RS 

You may have heard that I was having some issues with my website last week…but the good news is its all just about sorted now! Just a few more tweaks are needed to get it working smoothly again!
It has actually given me a chance for a bit of a spring clean – and so you will soon be seeing some of the new features I’ve added in the process! I’ll let you know when everything is fully functional.

Thanks for your patience,

Robert

Hi folks!

Thought I’d keep you all updated with the latest news as we commence 2012!

Beginning this week, I shall be starting online piano lessons, given through Skype, on a one-to-one basis.  Lessons will be for a duration of 30 minutes (longer if you want!) and are aimed at all ages and abilities.  So, whether you’re a complete beginner who doesn’t know the first thing about the piano, or an accomplished musician who just needs a few pointers for your latest piece, I’m only a Skype call away!

To enquire about a lesson, please visit my eLessons page where you can find out all the details about what’s on offer.  Please be aware though that you will ideally need a piano or digital keyboard of some description, plus a headset and Skype connection.  You’ll also need to go through Paypal to make payments.  If you’ve got all that (plus a bit of enthusiasm!) then you’re good to go!

I look forward to meeting some of you on Skype!

All the best,

Robert

Here we are then, now firmly in 2012!  It’s back to the grindstone, after what has been one of the most relaxing festive seasons I’ve had in ages!  It was really quite nice to do nothing much, other than visit family and friends and eat good food!

I have found time to make a small addition to the social sites to which I belong.  I have decided to get myself up-to-speed with Google+.  Looks good so far!  If you want to get on the bandwagon and follow what I’m up to from there, please have a look at my page here.  You’ll have to bear with me whilst I find my way around, but it looks manageable!

Anyhow, got to dash.  Hope you all have a cracking 2012 and maybe see you at a future concert…!

Happy New Year!

Robert

So then folks, Christmas is over for another year once more.  We’re all getting that little bit older.

As I write – waiting for the onslaught of New Year celebrations – I thought I’d post up a new video.  We did this on Christmas Eve, at our gig at The Birches, near Bradford.  It’s our take on Silent Night.  Hope you like it!

Well, after an absolutely manic few weeks, things are starting to settle down a bit!  Now I can actually start to think about doing some Christmas shopping!

In truth though, all the concerts over the past month have gone brilliantly and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of them.  Any particular highlights?  I think two immediately come to mind.  Ilkley Choral Society’s performance of Handel’s Messiah was completely wonderful – orchestra, soloists and choir were all on excellent form.  The choir had worked incredibly hard in the run-up to the event and it paid dividends! The other memorable ‘gig’, had to be Friday night at South Square Arts Centre in Thornton, near Bradford.  Such a cosy venue, decorated as a living room, it provided a lovely atmosphere for creating some very mellow jazz!

So…I now look forward to the start of musical offerings of 2012.  Plenty in the pipeline, of which more details will follow soon.

Finally, if you fancy a vibrant start to Christmas – why not join us for some jazz/soul at The Birches Club, near Bingley?  Starting at 9pm, I’ll be joined by Lauren Spink (vocals), David Sudall (drums), Tom Gee (guitar) and Ben Walker (bass).  Maybe see you there!

So, we’ve finally got the artwork done for our December South Square gig!  Have a look – and make a note in your diary to come along!

Remember, it’s on Friday, December 16th 2011.  We’ll be playing a whole host of stuff, from items included on our recent EP,  to jazz standards and more.

Oh, and I should mention that tickets are limited.  South Square is a small venue, so get your tickets before it’s too late!

Look forward to seeing you there!