After having given up playing the clarinet in a village band at the age of 16, I became a percussionist in a blues band. Unfortunately this blues band gave only one performance, which resulted in its immediate disbandment. Nevertheless I was left with the fascination for a kind of musical style out of which more or less the whole jazz development has grown. Soon after I went to visit the Dixie hall in the nearest town and got interested in all kinds of jazz trends.

In a way my Blue Duets are a logical consequence of this development. Shoeshine - Sunshine and Unknown People are based upon the classical twelve bar Blues pattern. Lonesome Tonight? and Two Outlaws have Blues elements but tend more in the direction of Dixie and Swing. Strange Appearance is pure Jazzrock, spiced with a spot of Latin. It should be played with the appropriate wildness. Finally with Dave’s Tune I paid homage to the great Dave Brubeck and his original and fascinating style.

The pieces are graded progressively according to the level of difficulty. In this way they should pave the way to the well known and more difficult pieces by Paul Leenhouts, Pete Rose and others. I deliberately chose to limit myself to duets since they are the most common and ideal form for recorder teaching. Whoever might like to accompany with the guitar or the piano is welcome to do so. It is also possible to add one’s own improvisation in appropriate places. Passages in which the second voice plays a typical bass pattern are particularly suitable.

Translation: J. Whybrow

Calw, November 1995, Franz Müller-Busch