Jazz and Chess
I've started studying chess. I've known the rules since I was a kid and have played it for fun over the years, but although always...
Sonny's Conception
Sonny Clark died of a probable heroin overdose in New York City in 1963 when he was only thirty two years old. In the ten years since he...
Donald's Pagoda
Donald Fagen released Morph The Cat in 2006. It was the third part of his 'Nightfly' trilogy which followed Kamakiriad in 1993 and the...
"I hate that song!"
Recently, whilst searching for clips of pianist Jimmy Rowles on Youtube I came across the album "Songs and Conversations" by Billie...
"Just keep doing what you're doing!"
On Monday 27th July 1959 Thelonious Monk went into a New York city recording studio to record the music for the film 'Les Liaisons...
Relaxing on the Axis
It's a well known piece of jazz folklore that Billy Strayhorn wrote Lush Life when he was only sixteen years old. Friends of his recall...
Relections on Monk's Mood
Thelonious Monk's music presents jazz performers with a unique challenge. In my opinion, any convincing performance of a Monk piece...
I'll Never be the Same
I recently went through one of my regular phases of listening to loads of Billie Holiday, basically just trying to figure out how on...
Some applications of the axis system
I’ve recently been looking into the the axis system, particularly at ways of applying it to improvisation and composition. The system was...
