[11/29/2006] - Jazz Fan Ends Up on Star's Website

A YOUNG fan who emailed one of Canada's top musicians for tips on how to make the big time was astonished to find himself featuring on the star's website.

Aspiring young jazz pianist David Cowling, 15, of Staveley, also received a personal reply from his hero, critically acclaimed composer DD Jackson, on whom he is basing his GCSE music coursework.

"I was pretty amazed. Not only did I get a reply giving me advice about the sort of qualities I would need to succeed, but the next time I listened to DD's podcast (an internet sound clip) there he was talking about my email and the fact that I'd based my GCSE composition on his work. It was really quite strange," said the Queen Katherine School pupil, who plans to send Jackson a copy of his schoolwork.

David, who began playing the piano about six years ago after the family was given a piano, which his great-grandfather had bought with the proceeds of a win on the football pools back in 1936, became a fan of Jackson after researching jazz on the internet.

Among his clutch of awards, 36-year-old DD Jackson, who is based in New York, has toured the globe, leaving audiences spellbound, and was recently crowned Composer/Songwriter of the Year in the National Jazz Awards and as well as picking up Best Contemporary Jazz Album in the Juno Awards - the Canadian equivalent to the Grammys - he has been nominated for five other top titles.

"I was actually quite flattered by David's email and I'm always inspired to do what I can to be helpful to aspiring young artists out there," said Jackson.

- the Westmorland Gazette (England), Friday 24th November 2006