I wrote these jazzy miniatures especially for Helen Burford as a thank you for her performance of ʻ..around and a round..ʼ in 2014. Helen is renowned for her innovative programmes which combine jazz classics with new commissions and works by little known contemporary composers and these pieces celebrate this joyful approach to repertoire.

The pieces are titled:

I. Pavillion Ferris Stride (Fats Waller)

II. Just air and water (Bill Evans)

III. Erroneous Monkish (Thelonius Monk)

IV. Boogie Woogie Barcarolle (Albert Ammons)

Four Jazz Portraits was premiered by Helen at the Brighton Fringe Festival on 10th May 2015 at the Friendʼs Meeting house, Brighton.