Looking deeper into the astrology of Ornette Coleman inevitably led me to the astrology of Charlie Parker. Bird is where Ornette started. Thanks to Massimo Magee who asked me when I would do Eric Dolphy’s chart. That idea made me realize I had to go to Bird first. Looking closely at Bird’s cosmic relationship with […]
49 trips around the sun is not just a quick skip through the park. My older friends are quick to tell me that I’m still young. It seems that as long as someone is older than you, then you’re still young. It goes right to the top. My father, in his mid-70’s, was telling me […]
Who writes the idea of your soul? We all have to be who we are in this world, no matter what, but who decides where and when you are born, and with what purpose? I have always felt out of time and out of place, and left with no choice but to trust the process […]
Just a few weeks past, the Universe had me walking across town in NYC with none other than Pharoah Sanders. When you’re around someone imbued with that much spiritual power, you can sense something present that’s beyond the energy that you’re used to, especially in such a twisted environment as Times Square. The weather was […]
As 2018 draws to a close, I have found myself not reflecting on the past year, but on all the music I’ve been involved in since 1978 when Mr.Natoli told me I was a trumpet player. I’ll be 49 next year. I’ve spent the last several years researching music when I’m not working on it […]
Long have I been haunted by the cornet. There’s something mystical about them. They contain a human element that is difficult to grasp from a technical perspective. Here’s a horn that plays a vital role in our history, going all the way back to Pops Cornet Chop Suey and Bix Singin’ the Blues. Even further, […]
Sunday. The day of rest. The day you check in with deeper reality, or perhaps reaffirm your spiritual beliefs. Certainly a good day to go see Giuseppi Logan since we both practice the same religion. Music Last time I spent time with him I found his horn hurting. I asked him to let […]
Heartelodics Hear art elodics These past few months I’ve gone right to where in vs.out was born. I’ve gone back and forth from Bird to Ornette, from Warmin’ Up a Riff to Ramblin’. From Klactovestedstene to Endless. I’ve gone back to Cherokee and played over 500 choruses. I’ve spent at least that many […]
Upstate, Kingston New York. 1995. My self-imposed exile from the straight-ahead scene in NYC has taken an unexpected turn. I work for an organization in Ulster County that gets work for and then supervises folks with mental illness. Today my crew is working at a recycling plant. Trucks come and dump recycling into a giant […]
Somehow, I end up getting out to see G right before school starts again. Today he asked me when I would be finished. I said by the end of this year, but I added that I’ve learned more from him than I’ll ever get in school. I wrote a letter to Hildred Humphries back in […]
