As many of you know, my trip to the summer school was funded by ntl:Telewest, part of the Virgin Media group as an incentive to fulfil a dream.  The following is my report back to the company.

There are at least 15 song titles disguised in the report.  See if you can pick them out.

An image of hell perhaps.  Twenty four hours a day stranded in the countryside over seven days with a group of jazz musicians.  Jazz for breakfast, jazz for lunch and jazz for dinner.  Jazz all morning, jazz all afternoon and jazz all evening into the early hours. 

Hell to some maybe, but not for me.  For me this trip was to fulfil an ambition I have dreamed of for many years and has opened my eyes further into the deep and intensely fulfilling world of music.  It has helped me to be more positive in my musical ability, has taught me how to relax, remove stress and to better myself with less frustration.  Being surrounded by jazz in a focused environment with like-minded and supportive people has enabled me to learn some very valuable musical skills that will be used to enhance my life both in and out of my music related activities.

Add to this total immersion in jazz a magnificent French chateaux set on a hillside in the Ardeche region of Southern France, a bunch of wonderful people, three of the worlds greatest jazz musicians/tutors, great food, free-flowing wine and superb sunny weather and this week of artistic indulgence became too marvellous for words.  Night and day, music (and wine) flowed permeating the air with a wave of energy.

After breakfast, each morning started with a group session, either analysing, singing or or otherwise exercising body and soul. The rest of the morning involved small groups working together to develop knowledge of different styles of jazz music, putting this knowledge into practice by creating a piece to be performed in the evening 'concert'.

Finishing these sessions in the early afternoon, we took lunch day in, day out, outdoors in the grounds of the chateaux.  The afternoon was designated free time but was used by all the students in putting together bands for the performance at the 'jazz club' late in the evening.  Impromptu rehearsals went on throughout the afternoon finishing just in time for the resumption of the group sessions.  The sessions culminated in a nightly 6pm concert, demonstrating the group arrangements that had been put together with great imagination and showed noticable daily improvement in the students' skills.

Sax tutoring was performed by the acclaimed Jean Toussaint, bringing skills from his time playing with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in the early 80's (Nice work if you can get it!).  His wealth of experience during this time and throughout his impressive career since then has been an inspiration.  The knowledge he left behind, together with the remarkable sound of his saxophone has incentivised me to use the techniques he taught us to improve my own performance.

Liane Carroll has a voice to die for and she brought her incredible vocals and her truly amazing personality to the summer school, tickling the ear drums of all the students with her hugely expressive singing style.  If anyone tried to tell you that jazz was not fun then this lady would prove them wrong.  Her ability to get people out of their comfort zone without them realising it is also something I will not forget.

Jazz Educationalist of the year, 2006; Simon Purcell provided the other third of the education during the week, taking us with ease all the way through jazz improvisation and significantly improving the skills of all the musicians' soloistic work.  Simon's jazz piano playing is a real treat to listen to and the performances he gave reflected his many years of experience.

The three tutors regularly performed together in the evening 'jazz club' with Clive Fenner, course director on drums, bringing his years of experience with the great names in jazz to the course and providing what is described by many as the best jazz summer school in the world.

So what's new?

Flying home,  I felt a great sense of personal achievement, now better equipped to practice and perform thus making my playing more rewarding.  I have been subconsciously tasked with constant improvement and that will affect my life in many ways. 

Yes indeed, the summer school has given me confidence through support, appreciation and encouragement.  These three elements are sadly lacking in many people's personal and business lives today.  The summer school has shown me that technical skills can be learnt with good tutoring but mental state plays the greater part in anyone's performance.  

I'd like to thank ntl:Telewest Business for making it possible for me to take part in this week of indulgence.

Phil Steadman
+44 7970 882126
phil@philsteadman.com
The New Lights Big Band - www.mybigband.com