|
D.D. Jackson
Composer for Television, Film & Media
Greetings! With a four- and two-year old in the next room at home, it's perhaps no surprise to you that I've lately been finding myself composing a lot of music for children's t.v. shows (including recent Gemini and Emmy award-winning ones!), plus for children's books and other media (and in doing so, have turned my two little ones into my "number 1 fans"!)...This newsletter is to keep you abreast of these and my other recent creative activities, and to (of course) encourage you to keep me in mind for any of your composing, arranging, production and performing needs! |
|
My Wonder Pets Episodes Now Airing
 I was excited to see that a double Wonder Pets episode (Little Airplane Productions) for which I composed the music will be airing shortly on Nick Jr. Those in the States can "Tivo" the episode ("Save the Moose in the Caboose!; Climb Everest!") this Monday, July 11th (6:30 pm ET in New York but check local listings), or: Buy it on Amazon.com (for $1.99) and watch it instantly right now
The show was also just nominated for its 4th consecutive Emmy for "Outstanding Musical Direction and Composition" (it won the first 3 times). In other children's show news, I was pleased to hear that 'The Ocean Room" (Sinking Ship Productions), a show for which I wrote and performed the complete 26-episode underscore and theme song, recently won the 2010 Gemini Award for "Best Pre-School Series". Also, look out for my 14 episodes of "3rd & Bird!" (also Little Airplane Productions), which have been airing internationally but are coming to the U.S.'s Disney Playhouse channel for the first time this month. . I've also lately been writing music for a series of beautiful, full-color, multimedia children's books with the Korean company Wisemom. Each book features a song, a rhythmical "chant", and an underscore accompaniment version of the same material (some with lush, full orchestration, all of which I write, arrange and perform in my studio), and is designed to teach English to international kids. Coming soon: actual stage musical versions of all the material.
Finally, in the pipeline is an iPad children's book app based upon a children's song I wrote for my kids, entitled "It's Time for Bed".
|
Hollywood Musical! My "secret project" is now in the can - a film musical about aspiring actors in Hollywood, for which I wrote the underscore, all of the song's music, and performed almost all the instruments. It was written, directed, edited, and produced by an old friend from my hometown in Canada named Alexander Baack, who has been living in L.A. now for several years, and the project was born after I visited him last summer while in town to play with Bill Cosby's Cos of Good Music all-star band at the 2010 Playboy Jazz Festival. At the time, Alex lamented the difficulty of finding backing for his various film projects, and I basically said: "why don't you just pick up a cheap camera and do it yourself?" Little did I know at the time that he would take me up on it so soon - two weeks later he sent me a completed script, and we ended up this past Fall writing 9 songs for the production in a manic and highly creatively charged 6 days, which I ultimately fleshed out, before adding the actors' singing in L.A.
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
Performance News
This past April I was honored to participate as pianist and arranger on a project of "The Roots" drummer Questlove, which took place at Philadelphia's Kimmel Center, featuring arrangements of classical composers for an unlikely ensemble of multiple keyboards, string quartet, bass, drums, plus myself on jazz piano and David Murray on sax and bass clarinet.
Hear my arrangement of Ravel's "Ma Mere 'L'Oye" for string quartet/piano I did for this project
I also performed this month at New York's acclaimed Visionfest in a new version of the collective known simply as "The Group", featuring: Ahmed Abdullah on trumpet, Andrew Cyrille on drums, Hamiett Bluiett on bari sax, Charles Burnham on violin, Bob Stewart on piano, and myself on piano, which the Wall Street Journal online called:
"the prize of the evening, and quite possibly the most enjoyable set I've ever experienced at Vision."
Finally, I just returned from the Barrie Jazz & Bluesfest for my annual solo piano series concert - a tribute to Miles Davis.
(see video excerpts from my past Tribute to Keith Jarrett and Tribute to Thelonious Monk concerts).
Visit my Jazz Website.
|
|
