Happy Star Wars Day everybody! Assuming you read this on the same day that I am writing it, which I suppose in the grand scheme of things is unlikely. But I hope you appreciate the sentiment nonetheless.
 

To mark the occasion, I would like to share a brand new Christmassy video that I’ve assembled this week. It’s a project I’ve been wanting to do for a while, and which consists of Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy arranged for bass clarinet quartet (with additional piccolo playing the original famous clarinet solos). My green-screening was a bit more successful this time than it was with the Bassoon Quartet Holberg Suite (it turns out that the wall adjacent to my window is much better lit for such purposes than the wall opposite it), and so buoyed up by this success I confess I got a little carried away with the editing. I hope you don’t mind.
 

Speaking of the Bassoon Quartet Holberg Suite, I can happily announce that, as of this morning, the sheet music for those arrangements is available to purchase from my website! Hurrah! And it’s only £1 per movement. What else can you get these days for £1 per movement? I’ll tell you: not a lot. So if you happen to be a bassoonist with three like-minded clones, this should be right up your alleyway: https://www.michaelgrantmusician.com/product/holberg-suite-by-edvard-grieg-bassoon-quartet/
 

Guess what? I’m in a jazz band. It’s called The Jelly Roll Jazz Band, and if you don’t know about it already then you really haven’t been paying attention. Anyhoo, we did a small-scale gig the other week which we live-streamed via The Instagram. But of more relevance to you is the fact that we also recorded it, and the entire hour-long video is currently available to watch on The YouTube. But you’d better be quick, because it’s going to self-destruct this Friday 8th May! The moral: grab your trad. jazz while you can.
 
https://youtu.be/UybMAaCt1jE

Good news: my account on Fiverr.com, which I only created a few weeks ago, has already more than paid for itself! To be fair, it didn’t cost anything to set up, so it wasn’t really that hard. But my point is, I’ve had a gig! This involved a bit of remote recording, adding piccolo and clarinet parts to a pastiche ragtime piece called ‘The Main Street Stride’ by composer extraordinaire George Streicher. I haven’t yet seen the completed masterpiece, but as soon as it’s available I will send it your way.
 

As always, I have a fair few projects gradually working their way through the pipeline. So to keep you hooked on my already highly addictive blog, here is a little run-down of things you can look forward to in the near future:
 

• The recording for my album of 12 piano miniatures is well and truly underway. I can’t tell you how long it’ll be before it’s ready – I’ve basically sent the sheet music off to a pianoman and told him I don’t really mind how long it takes to record. But the point is, it’s on the way!
• I’ve been hard at work writing a trio for clarionet, violoncello and pianoforte, which is nearing completion. I’m going to enter it into a competition that might win me £3000, which would be nice, but if not then at least I’ll have made something arty.
• Over the past few days I’ve assembled an arrangement of one of Kermit the Frog’s greatest hits, ‘Rainbow Connection’, which I will be recording over the next week or two with my colleague and arch enemy James Fridge of James Fridge and the Ure Doors. It’s written for 2 flutes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 alto saxophones, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, tuba, and banjolele. It’s been nice having the space to ‘stretch out’ a bit, in arranging for a large ensemble. So look out for that!
• For a while now I’ve thought it would make for a good show-off video to record myself playing all four of the notoriously difficult clarinet parts to mvmt. 1 of Ravel’s ‘Daphnis and Chloé Suite No. 2’, and I’ve recently made a start on that project. I’ve been working on the bass clarinet part first of all, this morning recording a reasonable take of it. I think I’ll now work my way up the section, meaning my next mission is to tackle the 2nd A clarinet part. Wish me luck!

I think that’s more than enough Michael A. Grant for now. While we’re on the subject of Daphnis and Chloé, I’ll leave you with a video from 2015 of Durham University Symphony Orchestra playing the 2nd Suite, and see if you recognise any of the clarinettists!

Toodle-pip.
 

P.S. I’ve just realised that I shared that same video not that long ago. But if a thing’s worth sharing once, it’s worth sharing again, right?