May 10, 2021
Hi and welcome to Success Beyond The Score. I’m Millicent Stephenson, thank you so much for joining me. Today I’m interviewing another great Guest. She is, Anna Brook, a professional saxophonist, an international touring and recording artiste with the Brooklyn Funk Essentials and Joolz Holland Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. She is a music arranger, music director, music preparation specialist and Singer. She is also a teacher at the Birmingham Conservatoire. Anna is a mother of twin sons who are 20 years old and at University.
How does Anna balance family commitments and touring? The pros and cons of having a music degree. Why self-taught rocks! Which is her favourite sax - soprano, alto, tenor and baritone which is her favourite sax? Dealing with mistakes, and what it’s like being the only female in the Band.
By the way, this recording was taken during Lockdown, over Zoom so if you are watching or listening there will be a slight difference in the sound quality of the introduction and the interview but the information is A-plus!
00.47 Intro.
03:46 Who is Anna Brooks and how she describes herself.
05:25 Balancing touring, stage work and parenting adult children with ADHD.
11:00 Which Sax? Early instruments. Self-learning the Sax, Jazz with a classical music degree.
18:02 Building a career through ‘learning as you Go’. Reading or not reading music. Dealing with musical mistakes in a professional setting.
23:30 The different routes musicians can take – Anna’s pointers: Give 100%; Practising; Knowing your craft; People notice. Word of mouth. Every Gig is a build-up of your reputation; turn up on time; appearance; your foundations for recommendation; get your own material out there; years of practise generate experiences.
30:53 Being the only female in the Band. The drawbacks of being a mother and touring musician. The opinions of others and coming to terms with being a female in music.
Anna's socials:
Website: http://annabrooks.rocks/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/annabrooks
Twitter: www.twitter.com/annabr00ks
Facebook: www.facebook.com/annabrookssax
YouTube: www.youtube.com/annabrooks
Spotify Artists page:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6bTX69msG9jlBTTFcwgtpV?si=3oPX36IKQAybfUttLR0iUw
Anna Brooks Quintet: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2OCVJoYBVe1olPa13Acg7F?si=iC7PhWhRSqKI5xRR46SIpA
Brooklyn Funk Essentials:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4r4tRC1EUpfUCLjwQXP5EA?si=BuWnoAFfR-ev8-iHswPIQQ
Millicent's free E-Booklet 'Revealed 25 Secrets of the
Successful Gigging Musician, Singer, Rapper and Spoken Word
Artiste' : https://www.successbeyondthescore.com/pl/120288
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