I was recently inspired by reading that scientists have shown it's possible for sound waves to counteract the effects of gravity. Yes, they did mean something very specific under experimental conditions, but why ignore a wonderful opportunity for an analogy? I took the opportunity to imagine sound waves counteracting gravity, making light music.

Light music has always been an important part of my musical life. My family was keen on light music of the dance band variety (Victor Sylvester), the American crooners (Bing Crosby) or the Saturday night light-entertainment television programmes (Russ Conway, Mrs Mills, Billy Cotton, the Black and White Minstrels, Eric and Ernie's songs). My father liked Victorian music hall and had an extensive repertoire of comic and sentimental music hall songs which he sang to us at bedtime. I've tried to import the composers of the American Songbook (Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Lorenz Hart, Duke Ellington) into piano recitals as encores. I've done improvisations on songs by Edith Piaf, The Beatles, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder in concerts. I've played in Astor Piazzolla evenings. I've done stints in cocktail bars. I've recorded Billy Mayerl's delightful salon music from the 1920s.

I love jazz and listen to it most evenings when I'm at home