Welcome to Jazz, Funk, Pop, and Reggae with James Beckwith

Hey, how's it going?

I'm James Beckwith, a pianist, composer, keyboard player, and producer from England, currently living in London. I'm here today at Rock School to take you through jazz, funk, pop, and some reggae pieces.

My Journey

I suppose I was asked to do this because I'm a jazz pianist, and I've been doing that professionally for over 10 years.

• I studied at Leeds College of Music in the north of England, where I was fortunate enough to write a big band piece that won the John Dankworth Prize for Composition.
• During my time there, I played in many different groups and bands.
• I then came to London to pursue a Master's at Trinity, which helped me establish a presence on the London scene.

Since then, I have traveled the world playing music with my own band, as well as performing in many other ensembles and doing lots of sessions here in London. Currently, I have my own trio, the James Beckwith Trio, which is recording its debut album to be released later this year. If you're interested, check it out!

Today's Focus

I'm going to take you through some material based around jazz, pop, and funk. So, what does that mean?

• We'll explore elements of jazz, like swing.
• We'll incorporate aspects of funk, such as syncopation.
• We'll also look at off-beats in reggae.
• Plus, we'll create smooth piano lines with the pedal in pop music.

I will show you a real mixture of techniques, along with tips and tricks to improve your playing. We'll cover how to tackle the more difficult aspects of performance and highlight general musicianship to help you play better, whether or not you're working on the grades for Rock School.

Join Me!

So, I hope you can join me as we break down these pieces. Together, we'll explore how I play them and how you can become a better musician. Let's have some fun!