The Outer Circle
If you tell me “anything you need, just call” that sounds great in a song lyric, but what does it really mean?
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the Cast of “Ripples” Part 1: The Tech Crew
I will be writing plenty about the musicians who contributed to the making of the Ripples album, but here I want to give a shout-out to all the other folks whose work on producing the album was essential to bringing it to fruition.
Continue ReadingFarewell Pete Seeger = Time to Stand Up
Pete Seeger is gone now. I thought about eulogizing him with a Top 10 list of his songs, but it seems more appropriate to reinforce the reality check that it’s now officially time for us to do it ourselves, to stand up.
Continue ReadingMLK, Yarffej and the Quest for the High Ground
Today’s challenge – pulling together the acknowledgment of Dr. King’s birthday, the passing of a beloved friend, a bad decision and a little Duke Ellington.
Continue ReadingTop 10 Favorite Tom Harrell Tracks
I love Tom Harrell’s trumpet playing, bandleading and composing and have enjoyed exploring his catalog to compile this list of personal favorites.
Continue ReadingTop 10 Favorite Yusef Lateef Tracks
Yusef Lateef, who recently passed on at the age of 93, has had a profound influence on my music both in terms of the specific sounds in his recorded legacy and on a more conceptual level. In a world in which musicians so often have alliances that imply a certain disdain for “competing” factions, Yusef Lateef’s openness and breadth of skills and interests have been matched by few artists carrying the “jazz musician” label.
Continue ReadingThe Pillow Test
Even better than “Happy New Year,” if I dare say so. My one goal for 2014 is to pass the “pillow test” even more often than in 2013. If that happens (call it the pursuit of a New Year’s resolution, if you will), everything else will fall into place to the greatest extent that I’m able to control.
Continue ReadingTop 10 Favorite Duke Ellington Tracks
A figure as towering as the Duke does not need a schmoe like me to throw out adjectives to pump up his importance or greatness. Instead, my focus on the show was the musical qualities that have left the most indelible marks on me as a composer, pianist and bandleader.
Continue Reading12/14 + Loving Community = Healing
This date is unbearably complex. Today I turn 40 and today I join with all those who reflect on the still impossible to understand losses suffered at Sandy Hook Elementary School one year ago today. Love still wins, and now I have the neurobiological data to prove it.
Continue ReadingTop 10 Favorite Jim Hall Tracks
R.I.P. to Jim Hall, one of my favorite jazz musicians, period.
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