It's been a long time between posts here but that's definitely not because I've dropped out of music.

I've been busy setting up a new live music venue in Chiang Mai, Thailand, doing a bit of performing there and around town, and doing a lot of recording.

A few months ago, we did a live CD for Nok "La Fiesta", a feisty latin guitarist/singer who plays all over South East Asia.

The Brasserie is just down the road and 'round the corner from us and is a Thailand institution, turning out some of the best blues/rock music in S.E. Asia for well over 2 decades. It closed its doors a few weeks ago, so we hauled all the gear down there to record one of the last shows. That's me on sax (and also peering intensely into the computer screen during the first song :-D).

Finally, David LaMotte wandered into the bar one night, we got talking and he agreed to put on a show the next day. I didn't know it at the time but he's actually quite a big deal in the US folk scene, but his amazing musicianship was very apparent on the night. It was a real privilege for me to be able to play with him, and record some of his songs.

Lots and lots of music in those three links, and even more here!

Here's another collaboration I did with the wild man in the hills, blu3sman, called "You Bet!!" We actually did this a few months ago but I was waiting for him to publish it himself before posting it here.

I was always in two minds about the horn section parts I put down for this one but after listening to it again after a long break, I reckon they came out OK. You can't beat a good bari

I've been pretty busy these past few months moving house and getting set up in the new place. I'm still without a studio and have been working on some songs all "in the box" but this is one that I did earlier with some real sax.

In this 4-part series of videos, we look at the basics of improvisation and how to manage harmony and melody.

Never having been one to do things in the normal way, this series precedes the "Playing The Changes" series published earlier, so if you found that one a bit hard, this one will give you the background you need to have another crack at it

It's been a bit quiet here these past few months and while I'd like to be able to say it's because I've been busy relocating to the other side of the world, what actually happened is that I moved the web site to a new server, including the code for the mailing list, but forgot to migrate the database, and it's taken me this long to get around to doing it

Nevertheless, I've been busy working on a new video series and some new songs, so there's a fair bit of stuff in the pipeline, starting with Sweet And Sour Blues, that I did with the Blu3sman. I met him a while back on SoundCloud and since we're both heavily into the blues, we hit it off pretty much instantly He lives up in the hills outside of Bologna, with no internet, so he comes down into the city once a week, uploads all his stuff, then heads back out into the wildnerness And despite what you might think from his photo, he plays a remarkably sweet guitar.

I, of course, am the sour in the song title

Peter put down this great track and the lyrics really reached out to me

A very old-school approach, definitely not my normal style, but something different :-)

Many thanks to Doug McKenzie for the piano and bass.

It's been a bit quiet on the music front these past few months and will continue to be for a few more :-( but I'm insanely busy with some other stuff that has to be taken care of first. There're a bunch of new songs in the pipeline, and filming has been done for a new video tutorial series, just have to find the time to put it all together...

In this 4-part series of videos, we look at how to play the changes to a song and be able to play melodic lines that smoothly flow over changing chords.

In this 3-part series of videos, we look at some exercises that will help you get started on the road to playing altissimo, then how to incorporate the high notes into your playing and some very cool advanced techniques.

In this 2-part series of videos, we look at what compressors do and why they are used. Then we put some sounds through one and see what effect it has.

In this video, we look at how to use ReaRoute to record audio in Reaper coming from any ASIO-capable audio application e.g. Ableton Live.

These are all originals, written, performed and recorded by myself.

• Dancing In the Rain. My very first composition and I'm stoked at how well it's come out. Must be beginners' luck
• Give It To Me. Trying my hand at something a bit more dance-floor
• Late Night. Inspired by far too many nights of playing music, drinking and playing pool. Starts off strong, before settling down into a steady groove until the early morning hours
• Smackdown. A muscular brawl between a screaming sax, some funky slap bass and a wailing guitar.

Saxophonists are required by law to play jazz, so here are a few tracks to maintain my compliance.

• Over The Rainbow. One of the prettiest songs ever written, and one of my all-time favorites.
• Oleo. The Sonny Rollins classic. Rhythm changes are always fun
• But Beautiful. One of my biggest influences was Art Pepper - no-one could play a ballad like him - and I love his recording of this song.
• Angel Eyes. Another one of my favorites, an insanely pretty song.

My background is in the blues, so let's start off with some tracks there.

• Caveman Boogie. Back to my roots, with a down-and-dirty, primeval, screaming blues.
• RJ Blues. A laid-back acoustic blues, in the style of Robert Johnson.
• Slow Minor Blues. A modern blues with some soulful sax.

When the feeling of the blues meets jazz technique, you get fusion.

• Room 335. A cover of the Larry Carlton classic, combining live sax and WX5 guitar.
• MF Blues. A funky modern blues with me playing WX5 flute and a very squidgy synth