Introduction

Hi, my name is Ross Stanley.

I'm a keyboard player based in London.

Background

I'm not originally from London; I'm actually from down on the south coast near Southampton. However, I've been living here for the past 18 or so years now.

If you've listened to any of the backing tracks, you may recognize that I'm actually performing on a lot of them. This was many years ago, I hasten to add!

It has been very enjoyable for me to return to these pieces and find different things within them the second time around.

I originally attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama as a classical piano player and quickly transitioned to playing jazz piano. During that time, I also played classical church organ and, now bizarrely, jazz Hammond organ.

I graduated in 2004, and ever since, I've been working as a professional musician on the scene. I've been very fortunate and lucky enough to travel the world, experiencing all kinds of different places and continents.

Musical Journey

Most of all, I've had incredible opportunities with the various people I've played with throughout my career, particularly across different genres. Here are some highlights:

• Jazz: Played with the great Eddie Gomez in his quartet.
• Modern Jazz: Collaborated with Seamus Blake in his organ trio.
• Progressive Rock: Performed with Steve Howe in an organ trio.
• Funk: Toured with Maceo Parker.
• Blues Rock: Participated in a tour with Zigaboo Modeliste from the Meters and Tom Jones during a period when his band was affectionately known as the Tom Jones Pub Band.

I've covered a variety of different styles, including:

• Folk music
• Country music
• Contemporary classical music

Course Overview

My role on this course is to guide you from grade one all the way up to grade eight.

We will be focusing primarily on the blues style, as well as a bit of rock and jazz fusion.

Conclusion

All that's left for me to say is:

Have fun with these pieces! There's some great material here.

I know I've had fun putting them together to teach you guys.

Best of luck, and see you on the course!