MLK, 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.
Continue ReadingThanksgiving and the Luxury of Annoyance
There is no shortage of things we all know we should be thankful for in late November. Here’s a less conventional one: annoyance. When the cable goes out during the game or the cornbread gets burned or Uncle Sheldon shows up late and then tells the SAME boring story he tells every year, let yourself…
Continue ReadingOpen Letter to the Hartford Courant re: Jazz Riffs
In response to the recent news that Owen McNally’s Jazz Riffs column is slated for cancellation
Continue ReadingI Want You to Know
Have you ever made the statement “you can tell me anything” to someone else? This is a well-intentioned statement and we usually perceive it to be genuine. But do we really mean it? And more significantly, are our actions really embodying it? Even when it’s difficult for us, possibly even making us feel bad about negative impacts of our own actions? Hmmm . . .
Continue Reading