Artical

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The jazz bands leading man

People say that classical and jazz music isn’t something teenagers are into these days in a world where Beyonce and Paramore rule, but the teenagers in Weatherheads schools jazz band are just as interested in classical and jazz music as the current top chart entries thanks to Mr Brown a talented and enthusiastic music teacher and band leader.

Mr Brown is the brains behind Weatherhead’s School Jazz Band and is keen to get all children in Weatherhead interested in music, but has he always been interested in music himself? The answer is yes, since he was a little boy Mr Brown has always liked music but it wasn’t until he was about 12 that Mr. Brown truly knew he loved music and everything about it, humming a new tune. At this point he picked up and began to play an instrument. Like any music lover, Mr Brown had a collection of instruments he learnt to play, Mr Brown took up five instruments, the tuba, trombone, piano, euphonium (small tuba) and the drums. Unlike most people who learn to play an instrument Mr. Brown taught himself to play. Mr. Brown’s inspiration to become a music teacher came from a ‘Bloke’ that taught him in the youth orchestra. He taught Mr. Brown how to get the best out of his instruments but in doing so inspired him to teach by the way he taught and the rewards that he gained from teaching children to love music so much more than they already did. This ‘Bloke’ had a great impact on how he teaches and he encourages more people young and old to join in with music and start playing an instrument. Mr Brown found it difficult to control a Jazz Band with so many people with so many diffrent sounds and personalities at once but as the months went on he began to understand the ways the band worked and he was able to teach and keep the band in time with each other. Mr Brown picked up on how Talented everyone was in the band and knew their different personalities affected their way of learning so he worked his teaching skills around his band, therefore making the band sound and act as one. As he begun to teach them he noticed that eachmember was committed to the band and in turn made Mr Brown’s work so much easier. Jazz and classical music has always played a major part of Mr. Brown’s life but as he got older he found this interest gr ew. Miles Davis, one of the greatest visionaries and most important figures in jazz history, is one of his favourite jazz artists and heroes. Mr Brown feels that if just one person could really inspire him to become musical then he could inspire more kids to join jazz bands or take up an instrument. Mr Brown feels that you should allow children to see what music is like, giving children a musical instrument and letting them play what they like, letting them see how fun and interesting music can be. He feels now that more bands have become more involved in the instrumental side of music they will help encourage more kids to get involved. When asked who he felt was his best musician Mr Brown was reluctant to tell me but he then told me that he felt Nicky Howley was his most talented student as of yet. However he then added that all of his band are talented and the Year 7s thathave joined this year are at a stage where they could become fantastic and great by the time they are Nicky’s age. Growing up Mr. Brown won a lot of awards during his time in primary school and high school but as he got older there were no real opportunities to win but he always enjoyed winning musical competitions this is where he felt he belonged, on stage with an instrument in his hands. Mr Brown enjoys both jazz and classical. He confessed to me that he has never been to the proms and rarely watches it on the television because he is so busy teaching and mentoring the Jazz Band however he did say that he would love to go, every year he says to himself, “this year I’ll go”, then the proms come and go and he still hasn’t gone. For a music teacher at Weatherhead High School, Mr. Brown hasmanaged to meet many different famous people, I was amazed and shocked to find that he has met people from the Queen to John Barnes as a performer in orchestra and bands. Although Mr. Brown has always loved and beeninterested in being a music teacher he loved being in a band just as much, he was in a band called CheeseCake. Unfortunately they didn’t have a record deal however Mr. Brown is currently in a band and play at weddings, birthdays and Christmas parties, where he becomes the rock star he’s always dreamed of being.