Rencontre James Beckwith

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 some jazz, funk, pop, and reggae pieces.

My Background

I suppose I was asked to do this because I'm a jazz pianist. 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.
• I've played in many different groups and bands during my time there.
• After that, I came to London to pursue a Master's degree at Trinity and integrated myself into the London music scene.

Since then, I have traveled the world performing music with my own band and other ensembles, alongside doing numerous sessions here in London. I currently have my own trio, the James Beckwith Trio, which is recording its debut album slated for release later this year. If you're interested, check it out!

What We'll Cover Today

Today, I'm going to guide you through concepts based around jazz, pop, and funk. So, what does that involve?

• Jazz elements: We'll focus on swing.
• Funk: We'll explore syncopation.
• Reggae: We'll look at offbeats.
• Pop: We'll cover smooth piano lines with a pedal effect.

I'm going to show you a real mixture of techniques, tips, and tricks to improve your playing, covering:

• How to tackle the more difficult aspects of music
• Ways to enhance your general musicianship

My goal is to help you play better as a musician, whether or not you're working towards the grades for Rock School.

I hope you can join me. We can have a lot of fun breaking down these pieces, seeing how I play them, and learning how to become better musicians together!