A Childhood Suite

Dominic's liner notes

Among the many melodies we hear in a lifetime, there are a special few that stay with us always and never lose their charm. Nursery rhymes have provided generations of children with their first experience of music and continue to enjoy the same popularity today.

As a jazz pianist, arranger and composer, I am always looking for melodic material with which to inspire new creative projects. Some years ago it occurred to me that nursery rhymes provide the perfect canvas for improvisation and reinvention. The melodies are simple, open to infinite variation and immediately recognizable to a wide audience. Of course, I am not the first to take inspiration from these evocative themes. In 1781, Mozart composed his famous set of piano variations on the theme Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman, more commonly known as Twinkle,Twinkle, Little Star!

In 2009, I released Songs We Heard (CANZ CD6), a collection of piano trio improvisations on nursery rhyme themes. A Childhood Suite reworks fourteen of these arrangements, with the introduction of a string orchestra to expand the harmonic richness of the project. The Suite includes Rock-a-bye Baby, Three Blind Mice and Frère Jacques, as well as Little Swallow from China, and one original, Awakening.