The Summer Sale ended with August but – at least here in Sweden – the summer did not. Though we’re soon into October, the weather is still warm and sunny and today I even saw bees buzzing around the still flowering plants in the garden. Weather-wise it feels more like late August, than late September.

As well as the bees, I have been busy too. Just the other day, I finished work on a new composition based on Japanese scales and modes, titled “The Frog and the Banana Tree”. It’s a vocal composition, for a female vocalist, and the lyrics is inspired by Matsu Basho‘s writings and haikus. Right now I’m editing the hand written draft score – seen here to the right – in Finale and when the score and the parts are finished this new chart will be published in the web shop.

Other than that, I hope that lifting of the restrictions in many countries will not lead to an increase in infection spreading again, so that societies all around the world slowly can go back to more normal conditions for everybody.

Still: Stay safe everybody, and be careful! This Corona virus seems to be able to spring nasty surprises on us, but I hope the pandemic really, really is subsiding now.

While this summer’s sowings grow and mature, like these sweet (and cute) tomatoes on my balcony in the picture, the Summer Sale of 2021 has one more month to go. Until August 31:st prices in the shop are reduced by 30% on all compositions and 25% on all arrangements.

Take the opportunity to buy stimulating and great sounding charts for your band at reduced prices, to get an energy injection to the repertoire and the musicians after the vacations.

I wish all of you visiting here a great summer, and to stay safe through what can come from this wretched pandemic – that still tries to hang on to us.

I have always had a liking for the Gershwin brother’s song “A Foggy Day”; something about the melody, the chords and the lyrics make me feel like it’s the perfect, light-hearted jazz standard. Now I have made an arrangement of this song, for Big Band and a male vocalist, that from today is available in the shop.

My version is a little uptempo, with the song alternating between a pedal ostinato and the regular chords, where I try to illustrate a drizzly, deep grey, murky and foggy London morning, which unexpectedly ends with the sun breaking through – maybe both literally and figuratively. This chart could work as a dance chart, and I hope others will find that I have made a stimulating and challenging arrangement.

There will also be a Summer Sale between the 1:st of June and 31:st of August. Because the pandemic has had such a devastating impact on the Big Band culture, I’ve decided to keep the greater discounts this year too. Prices will therefore be reduced by 30% on all compositions, and 25% on all arrangements. Take the opportunity to buy great sounding, fun and stimulating and unique charts at good prices!

Stay safe everybody! I hope we can put an end to the pandemic very soon.

Late March, early April, is to me the month of growth; the time when plants of all kind start to show up from beneath ground, twigs and branches show hints of the leaves to come, and where the grass on lawns and fields subtly starts showing a background of green to the yellow remnants of last year. This is also the time when my chili plants start to show significant growth and become real plants, from the tiny, minuscule sprouts they were when they first showed up from the soil.

This year, I’ve settled for only sowing three chili plants; partly because I have very much dried chili in store from previous years, partly because I want to have room on the balcony for other things than just a large bunch of chili plants. The sorts of chili I have this year are two slightly hotter variants, “Habanero White” and “Monster Naga”, and one mild and larger type, “Sugar Rush Peach”.

Other than growing chili, there are also some new charts growing on my desk. An arrangement of Gershwin’s “A Foggy Day”, for a male vocalist, and a vocal composition in Japanese modes and scales. Both will be published here when fully grown and matured.

I wish you all visiting here to stay safe and to finding strength to endure the time that still is left before the pandemic is fended off through the vaccination programmes that are pursued all over the world to increasing effect.

From today, there is a new composition available in the web shop. After some deliberation, I decided to compose for a Swedish text I wrote in June this summer; the result is now a piece for female vocalist and Big Band called “Den Första Juni” (Eng. “The First of June”).

When I started writing this piece, I realised that I already had composed a short Big Band poem portraying the spring, and as this new piece would picture the summer – I could as well look and work for inspiration to write lyrics and music for winter and autumn too. We’ll see where it ends, but my plan is to compose four short poems for each of the four seasons of which spring (“Midnatt På Landet”) and summer now are completed and available in the shop.