A resident of Liverpool, Gerry Jones is a retired teacher and active musician with an abiding interest in the City of Liverpool, but not interested in football. His current projects include:-
Promoting the "Liverpool Tart" confection which he discovered on a village website.
Aiming to persuade the City to have a Third Liver Bird made, at ground level.
Printing a book containing the main folk-songs of Liverpool from the 1960s.
Persuading Liverpool city to host the "Europeade" folk-dance and costume festival.
Providing information on the many and varied folk-dance clubs in Merseyside.
What Gerry has to say about himself:-
I am a retired music teacher who has picked up various skills along the way. If you need a Caller, a Country Dance Tutor, an Organist, an Entertainer, an Arranger, a Linguist, or someone who can play Piano, Organ and Accordion, (and to a lesser extent) Guitar and Bass-Guitar, Drums and three-valve Brass - then maybe I can help you or answer your question.
Listen to me sing while playing my keyboard, duration: 0:15
Caller - I can explain to dancers the movements and actions they need to do in English Barn Dancing, Irish Ceili dances, and Scottish Ceilidh Dances. I can do this with live music, usually the Liverpool Country Dance Band, or with MP3 players and amplification. Country Dance Tutor - I run a Country Dance Club in North Liverpool (Fazakerley Country Dance Club) using recorded music. Organist - I spent many years as a Parish Organist, and I am familiar with all the best-known and standard hymns, and with the music most often chosen for Weddings and Funeral services. I can also play a "club" organ, the piano, and indeed any instrument with a standard keyboard. Arranger - Having arranged music for the school band and music groups while a teacher, I have acted as musical director for a Boys/Girls Brigades Marching Band. Entertainer - By this I mean that I offer (usually) a one-hour "singalong" in care homes on a quiet afternoon, singing songs from the first half of the 20th Century, while playing my Yamaha electronic keyboard through a small amplifier. This can be extended to "family parties" for people of my generation and older, to include monologues and other items. My singing experience has included a church choir (singing polyphony and plain-chant), a very early "skiffle" group, a Gilbert & Sullivan company, and the folk-song scene. Linguist - My degree is B.A. II,2 (Hons) in French and Spanish, and I can get by in Italian and German, and a smattering of Portuguese. This means it can be handy to have me around at international gatherings, especially where music and dance are concerned. I can explain folk-dancing reasonably well in French and Spanish, and give a few words of help in other languages via my crib-sheets, and I can sing a few songs in some languages.