Dominic Alldis
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Dominic Alldis is a jazz pianist, singer, orchestral conductor & arranger who straddles the worlds of jazz, classical music and New York cabaret. He began his musical career in 1982 in Paris, studying jazz piano with Aaron Bridgers and Bernard Maury, while accompanying singers in the chanson repertoire of Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Joseph Kosma, Maurice Chevalier, Charles Aznavour and Michel Legrand.
In 1984, he returned to the UK to become resident-pianist at London’s premiere cabaret venue, Pizza on the Park. During a two-year residency he played opposite many of the world's leading cabaret entertainers, including Blossom Dearie, Steve Ross, Dave Frishberg, Bob Dorough, Andrea Marcovicci and Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, as well as celebrated jazz pianists Teddy Wilson, Dave McKenna and Roger Kellaway.
During the period 1987-89, Dominic studied composition with Konrad Boehmer and Frederic Rzewski at the Royal Dutch Conservatory of Music in the Hague. In 1988 he was invited by the Studio for Electro-Instrumental Music in Amsterdam (STEIM) to develop a performance using live electronics and the Yamaha MIDI Grand Piano. He then toured Europe during 1989-91 giving concerts using the revolutionary Yamaha MIDI Grand Piano, culminating in an ambient piano album Night Music for Lumina Records.
In 1996 he launched the record label, Canzona Music, to record a series of vocal-jazz albums: Turn Out The Stars - the songs of Bill Evans, If Love Were All - the songs of Noël Coward and Watch What Happens - the songs of Michel Legrand. His albums feature many of the UK's leading jazz musicians: Claire Martin (vocals), Geoff Gascoyne (bass), Dave Ohm (drums), Adam Glasser (harmonica), Tim Garland (saxophone), Alec Dankworth (bass), Clark Tracey (drums), Colin Oxley (guitar), Iain Ballamy (saxophone), Malcolm Creese (bass) and Martin France (drums). All albums on Canzona Music are distributed by New Note.
In 2002 he formed an octet comprising four jazz soloists and a classical string quartet: Iain Ballamy (saxophone), Malcolm Creese (bass), Martin France (drums) and the Pavao Quartet. Together, they undertook a UK tour sponsored by the Arts Council of England, in a programme of Dominic’s contemporary arrangements of themes from classic French films, such as A Man and a Woman, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Jules et Jim and Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, as well as favourite songs by the celebrated film composer Michel Legrand. Concert venues included the Wigmore Hall (London), the Adrian Boult Hall (Birmingham) and the Queen’s Hall (Edinburgh). This led to a fourth album on the Canzona Music label: Themes From French Cinema.
For the last 10 years, Dominic has also cultivated a career as a business speaker, exploring music as a metaphor for the world of business. In 2001, he founded Music & Management to launch a range of musical presentations for executive training programs. His client-base is now worldwide and he makes frequent trips to New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, Bangkok, Brussels, Barcelona and Paris to speak about the power of music.
Dominic is on the staff at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he gives classes in improvisation for classical pianists and opera singers. In 2006, he directed “Jazz Singing for Classical Singers”, a two-day masterclass at the RAM. He has also written two highly successful books, "A Classical Approach to Jazz Piano Harmony" and "A Classical Approach to Jazz Piano Improvisation", both published worldwide by the Hal Leonard Corporation.
Dominic was born into a family of classical musicians; his mother is a violinist and his father the renowned choral conductor John Alldis. Consequently, he has always maintained a keen interest in classical music and now divides his time between lecturing, jazz and conducting orchestras. In 2000 he was made an Honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.
[edit] Discography
- NIGHT MUSIC -- Lumina Music, 1989
- TURN OUT THE STARS -- The Songs of Bill Evans - Canzona Music, 1996
- IF LOVE WERE ALL -- The Songs of Noel Coward - Canzona Music
- WATCH WHAT HAPPENS -- The Songs of Michel Legrand - Canzona Music
- THEMES FROM FRENCH CINEMA -- Canzona Music
[edit] Bibliography
- A Classical Approach to Jazz Piano - Book One: Exploring Harmony -- published by Hal Leonard
- A Classical Approach to Jazz Piano - Book Two: Improvisation" -- published by Hal Leonard
