Jilly Jarman
Bryony Jarman-Pinto Band
I’ve been so enjoying playing with Jen, Caitlin and Tom in Bryony’s live band. A bit of a feat learning 13 new tracks when I’m used to playing my own stuff, jazz standards or improvising! I’ve also really enjoyed getting the flute out and starting to like it again – and practising! We’ve done Hexham Jazz Festival and Soho Pizza Express, plus a radio show with Gilles Peterson and are now back at Pizza Express on 12th September for the Soho Jazz Festival, with Jo Wiley on the Radio and finally nearer to home on 14th September – Lancaster Jazz Festival.
CANTA
Had a wonderful, unexpected visit from the amazing Beccy Owen (who is going to do a gig at BlueJam on December 7th! YEAH!) last week. She said that she has put together 600 songs that she does with her choirs and Canta! (click for sheet music pdf) is in the top favourite 6!
Beccy’s comment has given me a push to collate more of my songs for free community use.
At the moment you can find many of them on the Vocal Union website which you can explore here.
Worldwide FM Interview with Haseeb Iqbal September 2021
On this month’s show, Haseeb is joined by musician, composer and mentor Jilly Jarman.
“As the founder and Creative Director of Bluejam Arts, Jilly is responsible for one of the UK’s largest music mentorship programmes of the last 20 years, nurturing the musical journeys of tens of thousands of students since 2002.
Founded in Penrith, Cumbria, Haseeb and Jilly speak about the state of the arts in the North of England and exchange insights on the often London-centric perspective which can dismiss other parts of the country’s culture. They trace Jilly’s journey, born in Birmingham in 1956, studying in York in the 70s before moving to London and then deciding to settle in Penrith where she has remained since, influenced by her friends who ran Tomorrow’s Warriors in the capital. They navigate her own musical journey, learning to play a number of instruments from a young age and talk about what it was like playing in an all-female punk band at a time where that was less common.
They contemplate the importance of mentorship, as Jilly explains that BlueJam was initially born out of teaching music to children who were disengaging from music at school. She uses those children as a template to explain why she believes everybody has an element of creativity within them; highlighting that it’s often about whether that can be ignited by a mentor. The pair speak about the importance of a DIY attitude when it comes to creating infrastructure, especially when there is a lack of funding, sharing insights on their love of informal spaces as tools to aid grassroots culture.
An unheralded hero who has been a pivotal pillar for this country’s musical fabric, tune in for a fascinating two hours of conversation that contextualises much of the culture we enjoy. The chat is accompanied by music that Jilly has picked out which reflects her life, including tracks by her two daughters who have been a huge influence on her.”
Supporting Eternal Triangle May 11th: This was such a buzz having great musicians here at BlueJam – really lovely people too.
