One path through grief is to play music. Another one is to write. I have been called here to the page once more in an attempt to capture and hold onto that speck of light in the dark. The sun has been hiding behind the clouds this past week, and with good reason. Perhaps she […]
The first time I felt a genuine connection between my soul and music was given to me by John Coltrane. In my early 20’s while working the night shift at a supermarket, I found myself with nights off, being wide awake while the rest of the world was in slumber. One hot summer evening I […]
The Coltrane Tone Circle is now being researched as an example of the relationship between jazz and physics, music and geometry, and beyond. Now 50 years after his transition, we’re finally reaching a place where we can start to look into the areas Coltrane was driven to explore, as he attempted to make eye contact […]
The other day at my trumpet bar in midtown NYC I was playing Miles live at the Plugged Nickel when another musician stopped by, and informed me that Miles was done after Someday My Prince Will Come. After a moment of shock and disbelief, I wanted to hear why, but all he would say was […]
A few hours ago here in Astoria Queens, some cops were handing out flyers to people getting off the subway. A white guy with tattoos on his fingers got in my way as I walked in front of the cops, and asked me for a swipe right in front of them. “If you want […]
Back in 1957 Governor of Arkansas Orval E. Faubus sent the national guard to prevent integration of Little Rock High School. Everybody involved in jazz knows that Charles Mingus responded with his classic Fables of Faubus, where he turns Faubus into the focus of ridicule for his twisted and racist act. Columbia Records refused […]
These are strange days for people who see life entirely through the lens of jazz and improvisation. Many musicians like myself might feel like we were born at the wrong time. While a select group of musicians has been able to create lives where they can focus all their energy on their music, another […]
So when President Obama was ten years old in 1971, he got to spend a month with his father, whom he said he rarely saw. His father took him to see his first jazz concert. Dave Brubeck. Now in 2016 he just hosted an International jazz day at the White House, which he renamed […]
Back in 1987 I was in Russia on a tour with my high school big band led by legendary music educator Bert Hughes. I had a Dizzy Gillespie trumpet somehow, with the bell pointing into the sky. This band had a bunch of real life characters in it. There was Road Test Reese and Foster […]
The first time I ever heard Sabir Mateen was on the lower east side at a music store playing with the renowned TEST in the late 90’s. It was the first time I ever met or heard Sabir, Daniel Carter, Matthew Heyner, and Tom Bruno. Still fairly new to Free Jazz at the time, […]
