Addison Blues was commissioned for the Cardinal Vaughan Big Band and written over the Christmas 2008 period. The piece consists of a Bb blues in five sections, arranged symmetrically - a main theme, a 24-bar section for improvised solos, a middle eight, a second solo section and finally a restatement of the theme. The featured solo instruments are the piano, trumpet, alto and tenor saxophones. The nom de plume of Cannonball Addison, which I gave myself while composing the piece, gave rise to the eventual title.
The chart was premiered at St. John’s, Smith Square in March 2009, as part of the concert in memory of former band member, Fabian Maingot.
You can visit his website here.
Richard Harris graduated from Edinburgh University in 1990 with a first class honours degree in music. In the same year he co-founded the internationally acclaimed six-piano ensemble Piano Circus, with whom he performed concerts all over the world, finally leaving in 2002. Richard Harris’s compositions and arrangements have been published by Faber Music since 1994, and include book collaborations with Joanna MacGregor (‘Pianoworld’) and Evelyn Glennie (‘Beat It’.)
In 2004 Richard Harris created a personalised sheet music web site, www.rfkharris.com, which has featured in numerous newspapers and music magazines. He teaches piano at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School and Westminster School.
