Author: Jason
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Tacet
I recently heard the tail end of a radio interview with actor Simon Russell Beale. The discussion was about a new theatre production he’s doing which involves him actually playing the piano – yes, actually playing. Debussy, I think it was. It emerged that he is one of those actors who has grade whatever piano…
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Trane Spotting
I was playing one of those tunes the other day – the ones beloved of singers, the ones that go round the same II V I seemingly forever. Of course, I kept things pretty tight for the head, but then started mucking about during the solo. Hey, that’s just the way I am… A guy…
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Fostering Talent
It’s a hell of a story. The life of the inimitable Florence Foster Jenkins was begging to be told, and has now hit the big screen in a biopic, starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant. (She was inimitable, because nobody in their right mind would have wanted to imitate her.) Lovely Flo would have done…
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What the Fugue?
You go back to Bird and I’ll go back to Bach Here’s a piano exercise I find really useful. I’ll run it down first, then tell you why it’s useful and how you can use it as more than just a practice drill. We’re going to take the changes to a standard (one with quite slow…
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Note Perfect
Well, there’s no such thing of course, but I needed a snazzy headline for another software review. If you don’t use Sibelius, you are excused and can run and play. If you do, I’d like to tell you about the best playback option I’ve ever found for it. It’s called NotePerformer. There’s always been a…
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Boxing Clever
Just been through a complete tech clean out and revamp chez Lyon. And I’ve decided to fess up and say something extremely unfashionable. Band in a Box (hereafter BIAB) is a great program and a seriously useful tool. Let’s get into some backstory… I used hardware MIDI sequencers for many years to practise and write…
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You’ll Like This… A Lot
RIP magician Paul Daniels. Something of a childhood hero of mine, a masterful entertainer, one of those acts that it was fashionable to disdain at the time, but everybody loved and loves really. Here are a couple of clips of him discussing performing, audiences and nerves. What can a musician learn from a magician? A…
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The Universal Mind of Bill Evans
Jon Brantingham has just put a very good essay up at The Art of Composition. It’s an appraisal of an extended interview with Bill Evans, conducted by his brother Harry in 1966. The “Universal Mind” thing may sound a bit hippyish, but it just refers to the notion that there is a part of all of us,…
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Jazz in London Calling…
Sad to announce that Mary Greig, the indefatigable powerhouse behind the magazine Jazz in London, is having to step down after a mind-bending 43 years. Think about that for a moment. 43 years, month in month out, listing every jazz gig in London and surrounding areas. Being supportive, patient and good-humoured with everyone, bigshot or…
Jason Lyon Music 