and Frets Only

 

  About Dan and this Site

Within this site, you can:

• Learn about my new audio 5-CD tutor for those wanting to learn by ear, but containing a wealth of information for blind and visually-impaired guitarists: In Touch With Guitar
• Download sample pages and order my workbook: Reading Jazz Chords, a Guide for Classical Guitarists
• Hear extracts from and order Le Chant des Mésanges, my new solo CD featuring music for classical, jazz and 17th-century guitars 
• Investigate my compositions and arrangements, listen to samples and order music from the publisher
• Read about my compositions for theatre, including past projects in outdoor puppetry and current works, including my Family Musical, The Jole
• Keep up with forthcoming gigs and events
• Listen to excerpts from Kerfissien, recorded by The Campanella Duo and order copies
• Book Dan for Weddings and other functions as a Classical Guitarist or as part of a Jazz ensemble
• Listen to my playing at the 'weddings (Les Mariages') and Le Chant des Mesanges' pages.
• Listen to samples of The Canton Cafe Orchestra and order our CD El Ultimo Cafe
• Listen to my other CD releases and follow links to audio excerpts
• Get free manuscript and TAB paper, chord boxes and teaching resources
• Get in touch! - give me your thoughts and feedback

Dan Jones studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama under the guidance of the celebrated concert guitarist John Mills and Patrick O'Brien. He also undertook masterclasses with John Williams. Amongst his prizes was a Silver Medal from The Worshipful Company of Musicians. As a Soloist, his performing career has taken him to many countries including Hungary, Brunei and Japan. In 1999 he recorded his first CD of guitar duets with The Campanella Duo; a second disc, entitled Kerfissien, was completed in 2001. Dan is a keen composer and arranger; he has composed and directed music for eight outdoor puppetry productions: The Insect Play, Fishwish, Sweet Green Peas, Wide Awake and Dreaming, Alice in Wonderland, The Secret sshhh..., Alice through the Looking Glass and Unfinished Stories... and Stranger Tales. His piece for Guitar Ensemble, Icebreakdance was premiered by the Cambridge Guitar Orchestra in 2003 and is published by Cadenza Music and his arrangements are published by Corda Music and ESG music. He has composed a family musical, The Jole with a script by Cardiff-based writer, Graham Jones. He has appeared as a soloist in St David's Hall Cardiff for a performance of Rodrigo's famous Concierto de Aranjuez. For 12 years, he taught at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in the Guitar, Academic and Junior Music Departments where he had a particular interest in working with the visually-impaired. He still visit's the RWCMD to give occasional classes. He also ran music projects in prisons for 16 years. Dan played in several Jazz groups including The Canton Cafe Orchestra with whom he recorded El Ultimo Café and performed frequently with The Consort de Danse Baroque, with whom he undertook a 10-date Japanese tour in November 2004.

In August 2010 Dan and his family emigrated to the Dordogne in South West France. Here, Dan is the guitar teacher for the Ecole Municipale de Musique, Coutras also the Ecole de Musique in Saint-Laurent-des-Hommes and the Association Notes et Couleurs in Montagrier. He finds more time to compose and arrange music in France, and enjoys a greater amount of time with his family. He has joined the band Redwood and plays with the painter and Jazz singer Dottie Bart. Since arriving in France he has recorded a solo CD. Other recent projects include the publication of a Reading Jazz Chords - a Guide for Classical Guitarists and the release of the Boo Hooray Theory's debut album. He lives in Saint-Laurent-des-Hommes with his wife Kirsty, daughter Florence, second son, Sam and cats, Badger and Olive. Dan's first son Matthew has just graduated in History at Leicester University and is presently studying Intellectual History.