DYJO & Dave O’Higgins at Teignmouth

One of the principal focuses of our Heatree Residential is preparing the music for our annual appearance at the Teignmouth Jazz Festival. Each year the festival opens with DYJO and a nationally renowned jazz musician, and this year we have the pleasure of working again with the amazing Dave O’ Higgins on Friday 17 November, at the Pavilions Teignmouth.

We last worked together in Teignmouth several years ago, and Graham, I, and the bands were treated to a masterful display of his many voices on his tenor sax. I’m sure that the Mr Cool of the tenor will once again delight us and the audience!

Tickets are on sale from http://www.teignmouthjazz.org/festival-2017/buy-tickets/

 

DYJO does trad jazz

Well, we’ve come to the third and final day of our 2017 residential, and all we have left is the final giglette. It’s been a fabulous learning journey, with both bands making enormous strides.

As usual, we had a special extra activity, and this year it was trad jazz, in superb sessions led by trombonist Bob Martin. While he was working with two small bands, a large marching band worked with with Graham and Brian putting together a New Orleans funeral procession, for Mr Barry Tone.

It was revelatory stuff, and opened eyes to the origins of jazz. Come to gigs at Teignmouth, and later in the season, and you might well hear a bit of the DYJO Stompers!

We’ve had a wonderful time at Heatree, yet again, thanks to all the staff and its unique location. Someone might also have enjoyed seeing a bit more of the local scenery in his lunchbreaks…

The Learning Thing, 2017

This morning is the time at the residential when we put self-directed learning right at the forefront of the players’ minds. They have a new tune to learn without tutor help, first in instrumental sections, and then in two bands, this year snappily titled ‘Maria’ and ‘Hannah’.

It’s a time-pressured exercise (just 75 minutes), so starts to illustrate the pressures on professional bands. It’s always a testament to the players’ appetite for and skills in learning that they always rise to the challenge!

Residential 2017, Day 1

Phew! All our DYJO Residential participants have made it to the end of the first day. Even if their fingers and chops have been thoroughly put through their paces, there’s still an insatiable appetite to make music approaching 10pm, with an informal jam involving both players and tutors not running out of steam yet!

And that’s after a day jam-packed with rehearsals, full and sectional. It’s hard to believe how much we’ve done in the 12 hours since everyone arrived.

And tomorrow promises to be no less fun-filled. Let the learning continue!