Jason Lyon Music

Category: e) Rants & Ramblings

  • Woody’n’You

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    Well, finally the sun is shining. And the glue is drying… I’d like to introduce the rhythm section: On bass, Ron Carpenter… On drums, Pawl Motion… On piano, Crank Jones… Personally, I feel the pianist model doesn’t have as much kinetic appeal as the other two (maybe that’s just art imitating life – sadly, we’re not…

  • Tacet

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    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…

  • Fostering Talent

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    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…

  • Boxing Clever

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    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…

  • You’ll Like This… A Lot

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    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…

  • The Universal Mind of Bill Evans

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    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,…

  • Jazz in London Calling…

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     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…

  • How to Write a Love Song

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    I love these guys.

  • Benet McLean with JLT Review

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    Thanks to Stephen Graham at Marlbank for this writeup of last week’s gig with the downright special Mr McLean. If you stick the words “jazz” and “violin” together, most people will be mentally transported to a Parisian boîte with Honeysuckle Rose jing-jick-jing-jicking away through the Gauloise fug. Lovely though Hot Club stuff may be, as…

  • The Clock Waits So Patiently on Your Song

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    When you switch on the morning news and hear Ziggy Stardust it can sadly only mean one thing. Pop music has always been tribal. People have loved some bands and hated others – but I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who didn’t find anything to like by David Bowie. Maybe that was because there…