Well I have finally done it. After all the practise, studying and lessons from various people I have at last performed some jazz in front of an audience. This important event in my musical education took place last night at the White Hart Public House, Wimbish, Essex. To get there has been a long journey, rather like the trip we had trying to find the Pub. My jazz journey started a couple of years ago with a lot of enthusiasm but very little direction. After a while I started to find my way although very slowly. It helped to have a good map. I used the Jamey Aebersold play-a-long books a great deal and read them over and over again. I learnt how to practise my scales and arpeggios with a purpose in mind and with every turn and new road began to understand more and more. I played tunes at home and struggled to improvise over the chords. I studied jazz theory and tried to get my head around dominant 7th’s and ii-v7-1 sequences. I also attended a couple of jazz workshops at the Benslow Music Trust which were fun but really only highlighted my ignorance and what I needed to know to progress further.Eventually I recognised the need to stop and ask someone the way. After a lot of searching I found a great teacher in Hannah Horton who has helped me enormously. She has given me better directions and taught me exactly which roads to take during my improvisation. I still have a great deal to learn but last night I was able to exorcise a ghost of the past (See Half Moon link) and now feel that I am on the right road to continue my mission.
The White Hart PH is in the wilds of the Essex countryside. It took us ages to find it. We seemed to be going round in circles in the dark looking for a sign. Backwards and forwards we travelled until eventually we gave up looking and asked someone the way. We discovered we were just yards away. This is just like my music; I was close but not close enough. But now I feel I am in top gear and on my way.