Christopher Norton’s Microjazz celebrates its 40th anniversary
2023 is a double celebration year for Christopher Norton, with his bestselling Microjazz series reaching its 40th anniversary in his 70th birthday year.
First published in 1983, Christopher Norton’s Microjazz continues to inspire teachers and students across the globe in its 40th anniversary year. With his 70th birthday on 22 June, we enjoy a double celebration for this composer and arranger who has had such a profound influence on educational music across generations. Born and trained in New Zealand, Christopher Norton was based in the UK for many decades and is now resident in Canada, continuing to travel widely giving workshops based on his educational publications.
Combining the pop and jazz sounds students enjoy with the technique they need to learn, Microjazz remains established as a long-standing favourite with both teachers and players and one of the most widely used educational series ever published. There have been many imitations over the years, but no one has Christopher Norton's unique knack for writing a good tune and making it sound so easy, or as one reviewer put it "original music that's properly jazzy but still ludicrously easy to play!" (Keyboard Review)
Recent publications in the Microjazz series include a new edition of Microjazz for Beginners, suitable for learners of all ages. Using a combination of words, music and illustrations, it takes first-time pianists steadily through the early stages of both the practical and theoretical aspects of playing. Microjazz for Beginners follows on repackages of Microjazz Collections 1, 2 and 3, and all now include links directing to easy-to-access online audio recordings for every repertoire piece.
The series of Microjazz Collections has been extended with the new Microjazz Collections 4 and 5, containing progressive easy pieces in popular styles such as jazz, blues, rock ’n’ roll and reggae. Helpful teaching notes and online audio resources containing both full performance and backing tracks are provided to enthuse and enhance both your practice and performance.
> Explore Microjazz Collections
For an in-depth view into Microjazz, Christopher Norton has compiled a Guide to Microjazz, giving a unique insight into his music and how best to teach it, in partnership with piano pedagogue Scott McBride Smith. Norton has been workshopping his compositions throughout Europe, the USA and SE Asia for many years, and here shares this experience, demonstrating the art of learning and teaching these ever-popular pieces. In a simple step-by-step approach, this book covers the aspects of piano technique required for authentic and stylish performances of the many popular styles covered in the Microjazz repertoire.
> View Christopher Norton publications available from The Shop at Boosey.com.
