I'm spending my Sunday watching YouTube videos of Jess Jurkovic, who has done an astounding amount of transcription of composer Dudley Simpson. Simpson is probably best known for innumerable episodes of Doctor Who, although he also created memorable themes for Blake’s 7 and The Tomorrow People.
Here, Jurkovic discusses and plays the most famous Doctor Who score, “City of Death”:
I once spoke to Dudley Simpson briefly on the phone. At that time I was doing a few interviews for BBC radio (including Keith Jarrett, Henry Threadgill and Wayne Shorter) and thought it would be great to give Simpson some space.
While in Sidney on tour with The Bad Plus I called all the “D. Simpsons” in the Australian phone directory and eventually reached the legendary composer. Sadly, the BBC passed on the interview; also, Simpson was already around 90, in frail health, and just wasn’t up for a visit.
However, at least I got to tell Simpson over the phone that his music was just wonderful. Indeed, there was an argument that this American pianist was touring Australia at least in part thanks to an early obsession with Doctor Who.
(FWIW, Simpson is a direct influence on my aesthetic. One time in the late '90s I played the VHS of “Pyramid of Mars” for Reid Anderson and Jorge Rossy. They both started laughing at how much the music on the TV serial sounded like some of my compositions for my first Fresh Sound record with Reid and Jorge, Construction Zone.)
I just supported Jess Jurkovic on his Ko-Fi. Jurkovic is presenting Simpson's compositions in a clear, accurate, and detailed manner. I definitely got a little smarter watching these videos. Good piano playing, too!