Amos (Year 2) played his new favorite song. When he finished, he turned and asked:
“Can I play it on the dark side?”
Huh? Okay…
He shuffled to the left and played again, solemnly and in Vaderesque fashion.
On the Dark Side🙂
Review of Blues Arcadia in Scenestr
Here is my review of Blues Arcadia, when they played at Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall in Caxton Street, Brisbane.
http://scenestr.com.au/music/blues-arcadia-lefty-s-old-time-music-hall-review
Piano recital for my students!
This week, at the Gold Coast school where I teach, my students performed in a piano recital. Actually there were two recitals, as I teach at two campuses. Although there are several instrumental music events at the school each year, the Director of Performing Arts said this was the first ever piano recital at the school (in its 30+ year history).
Did you hear that kids? We made history at the school! Yay!
This recital came about because I asked whether my students, all of whom are beginners, could experience the excitement of performing to an audience. After all, a challenge and a little healthy stress is a good thing; it’s character-building!
Latest hard copy of scenestr
Just happened to pick up the latest local edition of scenestr.
By a stroke of luck my review was in it. I wasn’t expecting that. Nice surprise :-)
Chris Poulsen Trio review in Scenestr
Chris Poulsen Trio at Brisbane Jazz Club
[Also published in Scenestr]
How sweet it was to be blown away by the sheer exuberance of the Chris Poulsen Trio on Friday (June 17) at the Brisbane Jazz Club. With Poulsen on keyboards/synth, Jeremy O’Connor on electric bass and ukulele bass, and Dan Smith on drums, these musicians delivered a stellar night to a whistling and whooping audience. All hailing from Brisbane, these local musos were smoking from the word ‘go’.
The trio launched into ‘Brother Smell the Bread’, an original song. Immediately we were in a world of edgy, modern jazz; think Medeski Martin & Wood. Funky dissonance, intense and exploratory solos from Poulsen’s synth and O’Connor’s uke rang out as Smith chopped up the time signatures underneath them.
Star dust
Since I make recordings of my students with my phone, I thought it’s fair dues that I should do same with myself.
These days I don’t play from written notes very much, although I may start again.
I play from chords like this:
This is from an app on my phone called iReal Pro. It’s like having a Real Book on your phone. Lots of chords of songs.
So this is a take of Star Dust. I have to reach around for the melody so sometimes it’s hit and miss. It’s one of my favourite songs. The header of this blog is taken from a chart of Star Dust.
