Just discovered a tape of my postgraduate recital at LCM from 1994 – here’s the rough recording of my  Bill Evans tribute  ‘When I Fall in Love’:

jazz piano 1

piano – Sue Miller

bass – John Day

drums – Ronnie Bottomley

CUBAN MUSIC: WEEKEND INTENSIVE COURSE
Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd October 2010

Led by
Musical Director: Sue Miller
Percussion Tutor: Jack McCarthy

At
Yorkshire College of Music and Drama, Leeds
(at the new college site St Marks House, 1 st Marks Avenue, Leeds LS2 9BN)

The Course:
This weekend intensive course in popular Cuban music aims to explore a variety of Cuban Music popular styles through a mixture of workshops, sectionals and ensemble playing with a focus on clave, groove, timbre, improvisation, and stylistic concerns. The course caters for brass (trumpets, trombones), strings (violin, viola, cello, guitar, tres), woodwind (flute, clarinet, saxes), percussion (timbales, congas, bongos, guiro, maracas), vocals, piano, and bass.  Styles covered are likely to include Son, Son Montuno, Danzón, Mambo, Chachachá, Bolero and Guajira. Percussionists will also receive small group tuition from Jack McCarthy,  focussing on technique, timbre, stylistic ensemble patterns, clave feel and stylistic improvisation. Sue will focus on ensemble playing and frontline & melodic rhythm section workouts, stylistic improvisation and the unwritten codes used in the performance of Cuban Son and Charanga styles. There will be arrangements but also a focus on the Descarga (Cuban Jam Session).

Fees: £70 per day or £120 for 2 days (10am til 4pm)

After the course on the Sunday 3 October there will be a presentation by Sue Miller and Vicki Beere on the course in Havana in April 2011 (4pm til 5pm)

Official Enrollment and payment from 6 September at Yorkshire College of Music, cheques made payable to Charanga del Norte and sent to 25 Norman Row, Kirkstall, Leeds LS5 3JL or paid in person at Yorkshire College of Music

more details about the course structure will be posted in September…watch this space!

Contact Sue Miller to reserve a place…

CONTACT:
Sue Miller
Tel 07957 244 167
Email charangasue@ntlworld.com
Website www.charangasue.com

Biographical notes:
Sue Miller B.A., PGCE., PGDM., MA., PhD (pending)

Sue Miller completed the Postgraduate Certificate in Jazz, Contemporary and Popular Music at Leeds College of Music in 1994 and later studied Cuban flute improvisation with the legendary flautist from Orquesta Aragón, Richard Egües, in Havana. An experienced teacher, lecturer and performer (she is bandleader of Charanga del Norte and flautist with the Rumberos All Stars Palmieri tribute band), Sue has also directed Cuban Music Big Bands at Yorkshire College of Music, LCM and the University of Leeds and is also a part-time lecturer in Cuban, Popular and World Music at Leeds University. Sue is currently finishing a PhD in flute improvisation in Cuban charanga performance at the Univeristy of Leeds. For more information on her work see http://www.charangasue.com

Jack McCarthy

Jack is an active freelance percussionist and drummer. He first travelled to Havana in 2008 to study Timbales in the popular styles with Buena Vista Social Club’s timbalero Amadito Valdes, Jesus Cos, ‘el Gigante del Timbal’ (Orquesta Sublime) and Congas with Santiago Garzon Rill (Clave y Guaguanco). In March 2010 he returned to Cuba for an intensive course on Rumba, organised by ‘La Timbala’ and featuring musicians from Yoruba Andabo, Rumberos de Cuba, and Grupo Afrocuba de Matanzas. One of the brightest talents to emerge onto the UK Cuban music and Salsa scene in recent years he has played congas with Charanga del Norte since April 2009 and is featured on their new CD ‘Look Back in Charanga’.

At the end of the course there will be the opportunity to sign up for regular Cuban music courses and ensembles at Yorkshire College of Music and also a presentation on the course in Cuba in April 2011 on the Sunday.

Charanga del Norte perform at Grimsby Town Hall on Friday 30 July as part of North East Lincolnshire Arts Forum Festival

Dance class from our dancer Guillermo at 6.30pm

Band on at 8pm

Venue: Grimsby Town Hall, Town Hall Square, Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire DN31 1HX

Tickets from Tourist Information 01472 323111

Ticket Prices £10 (£8 in advance) £7 OAPs and £5 for children

St Marks House, 1 St Marks Avenue, LS2 9BN

In addition to offering flute, saxophone and piano tuition (classical and jazz: beginner to grade 8) I  will be running some new courses in Cuban music and improvisation – do get in touch with me if you’d like individual or group tuition. I will be setting up some small improvisation groups from beginner level upwards and a regular Cuban Music/Salsa Ensemble and also plan to run some weekend intensive courses in Cuban music there too for those wanting to take their skills and knowledge of Cuban Music  further. The first course is 2 and 3 October and has 4 places left. The new college will be up and running from September and you can call in there for a brochure or email them on ycmd@supanet.com. Do contact me to enrol on my courses and ensembles and feel free to email me if you have any questions! Details are on the Contacts page of this site.

Sue directing the Cuban music big band

Susana tus inspiraciones son muy buenas – pareces una cubana inspirando!
Susan your solos are great – just like a Cuban improviser!”
Policarpo (Polo) Tamayo, flute player Buena Vista Social Club

Latin music, but not as you may know it, this band are deliciously different and incredibly danceable
The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen

Sue Miller’s fluent flute featured strongly on Orquesta Aragon’s Bodeguero.
Steve Millward Manchester Evening News, The Bridgewater Hall review

Superb UK-based salsa and charanga band
Songlines magazine

Inviting supporting acts to perform with legendary Cuban artists involved in the Buena Vista Social Club project is no easy matter, finding an outfit in the UK that can hold its own with a well informed audience makes the task all the more difficult…. Bridgewater Hall has a reputation for authentic, first class music and Charanga make the grade.
The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

PLUS a course in Cuba with Buena Vista Social Club and veteran son and charanga musicians lin 2011 – email Sue for more details…..

My workshops in Cuban music are ‘arrangements-based’ catering for a big band line-up that also includes strings. I have written over 30 arrangements for brass, woodwind, piano, bass, percussion, strings and vocalists with the aim of teaching the Cuban styles of Son, Son Montuno, Danzón, Mambo, Chachachá, Bolero, Guajira and Pachanga through practical ‘hands on’ rehearsal and performance.

My  ‘one off ‘ day intensive courses are run at Yorkshire College of music and focus on stylistic and cultural aspects of Cuban music and are tailored to the level of the students. I am assisted on the first Autumn course by Charanga del Norte percussionist Jack McCarthy

Here’s a percussion demonstration Jack did for my university students on 9 November 2009 :

My courses are tailored to suit professional musicians, university music students,  secondary school and sixth form music students and community bands, orchestras and ensembles.

In 2011 I will be directing a Cuban music course in Havana working with Cuban music veterans, with Masterclasses from the likes of Amadito Valdes from Buena Vista Social Club so do get in touch via the contacts page if you would like to participate in this one.