Cafe Source Gig, 24 April 2009 (featuring Scott Free)

Thanks to everyone who came along on Friday 24th April for our gig at Cafe Source in Glasgow. The gig featured Professor Scott Free from the world famous Berklee School of Music from Boston, USA.

Pictured above: Scott Free, Gerry Rossi & Nigel Chadwick

Scott's visit to Scotland was to follow up a teaching visit that our very own Gerry Rossi made to Berklee some 18 months ago. Scott had invited us to rehearse and play one of his new compositions "Friendship Oak" and we were honoured to do so. It was a European Premiere in that sense! Luckily Scott also sat in and played guitar on the piece.

While Scott was here he spent time at the University, attended some of classes and delivered two excellent seminars/lectures - one on arranging and one on composing. This was Scott's first visit to Scotland and he plans to be back! Also the University hope to make the arrangement with Berklee more regular and formal now in order to explore common areas of research activity and develop exchanges for students and staff. That is very exciting for the University but also for SUBB as Scott's first love is composing for jazz orchestras/big bands.

While he was here he met staff and students from the BA Applied Music course and had a very useful meeting with our Dean, Jill Bourne. His classes were great - he is so experienced and has a real presence and enthusiasm for music.

Interestingly, one of the charts we've been featuring prominently this year is an arrangement of 'Work Song' from a relatively young composer and pianist from the US called Geoffrey Keezer. He has a growing reputation and composes regularly for the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and many other world famous big bands. On Friday we found out that he was taught at Berklee by . . . . Scott!

As our Musical Director John Davies was on holiday we reshuffled the line up with Gerry conducting the band and Mira Opalinska 'depping' on Piano. Mira (pictured right) is a student in her third year of the BA Applied Music degree. She is from Poland and studied at the Warsaw Conservatory of Music before coming to Glasgow to study. She has already established herself as one of the city's finest jazz pianists and plays regularly with her quartet around town. She has also taken her band to Poland and toured there with Stewart Forbes, showcasing her own compositions.



There were a further few changes to the usual band line up tonight including Kimberly Donnelly (below left) playing sax and Fiona Downie (below right) on trumpet. Founder member, John Parkes sat this one out and watched from the 'treatment table' on the sidelines after picking up a sports related injury !




















Our next gig at Cafe Source is on Friday 29th May at 9pm. Admission is free and we hope to see you there!