Ostinato Groove! Emme

Jerry writes: Great work again Emme. I like how you took the Ostinato idea, made it your own and ran with it. I also liked the musical dialogue you conducted with yourself giving question and answer phrases. Transposing the ostinato up added tension gave the piece structure by providing a cadence two thirds of the way through. Nice drum break. It shows great awareness of pacing - and finally adding your own horn section was a master stroke. – Wow! You knew exactly the right moment bring the piece to its completion. You are building up a formidable catalogue of work.

Max Ostinato

Jerry writes: Well done Max. Straight off you did the professional thing and that was let the listener hear the ostinato before you began. You carved out some really great lines in such a short space of time! I liked how you built low to high. That give a solo a strong sense of direction. The improvisation was unpredictable and that is exactly what held my attention. I didn’t know what was going to happen next. A fine skill to have. If you are ever in a recording session you might be asked to fill 8 seconds. And you will know how to do that now. Fabulous and funky. My kind of music!

Matilda Ostinato. Very well done

Jerry writes: That was brilliant Matilda! A lot of improvisers fill their solo with a billion meaningless and flashy notes. They are boring show-offs. Not you! Your solo grabbed me from the start. Really bluesey! That A-flat just made me melt when you played it? It’s a great note, isn’t it? Wonderful playing. You let the music breathe by leaving space between phrases and you carved interesting melodic lines from the blues scale. I like minimal in jazz – like Miles Davis. You have a great feel for this music and you have done so well for someone so young. Great work Matilda. A-star!