Express yourself

Express yourself

No matter where you go or

who you're with you have the 

freedom to walk with a jig and 

strut down the street to the beat

that is only yours - express yourself. 

Jon Batiste

Listen to Jon Batiste play, "Express Yourself":

Inspired by Jon Batiste at the Newport Jazz Festival July 31st. 

You can win

You can win

In the case of fear
know that hope is near and that
you can win with heart.

Mindi Abair at Scullers

Listen to Mindi Abair playing, "Lucy's":

Inspired by seeing Mindi Abair play music from her CD Wild Heart at Scullers Jazz Club July, 30.

Solitude

Solitude

Those sad little rainy days
spent with a book
blanket by your side
lamp on drip drop drip
consumed with solitude.

Inspired by Oscar Peterson playing, "Triste":

Moment's notice

Moment's notice

Maybe we'll meet again
in some distant life
and we'll lock eyes
while crossing the street
all in a moment's notice.

Inspired by John Coltrane playing, "Moment's Notice":

Wholly present

Wholly present

No technology
embracing humanity
while wholly present.

Inspired by Nat King Cole playing, "Nature Boy":

Summertime

Summertime

The beat on the street
rhymes, back in time
to the glory days of
boogie woogie

Where you couldn't hide
the feeling of stride
and each song made you jive
cheering along being alive
and it all seemed to ring
as people would sing
tap tap tapping away
to the hum of the drum
the yack of the sax
the chiming cheering of the piano

The beat on the street
rhymes, back in time
to the days of eternal sunshine:
summertime.

The Laszlo Gardony Sextet at the Cambridge Jazz Festival

Listen to Laszlo Gardony playing, "Bourbon Street Boogie":

Inspired by the Laszlo Gardony sextet at the Cambridge Jazz Festival July 26. 

To the ends of the earth

To the ends of the earth

I hear a ringing tinging singing
over the hills in the ground
shaking like an earthquake
I feel a pitter patter putter
rhythm-ing inside my chest
thumping bumping as if
I'm in a ricky ticky roller coaster
I see a soaring roaring adoring
sky full of fluffy puffy white clouds
parting to the sight of a bright sun
as if to say I'm there to care for you
to the ends of the earth.

My sketch of Monty Alexander

Listen to "Mojo" with Monty Alexander, Jeff Hamilton and John Clayton:

Listen to Nat King Cole singing, "To The Ends Of The Earth":

Inspired by seeing Monty Alexander Remembers Nat King Cole at Scullers jazz club July 25.

It's funny

It's funny

It's funny how the
loneliest feelings come by
when next to others.

Inspired by Billie Holiday singing, "Good Morning, Heartache":

By myself

By myself

I feel stronger now
knowing what I've silently
gone through by myself.

Inspired by Bobby Darin singing, "All By Myself":

Time machine

Time machine

Time machine
poof
a year ago
this very day
we 
poof
a year later
this very day
me.

Inspired by Benny Golson playing, "Yesterdays":

Bravery is an odd thing

Bravery is an odd thing

Bravery is an odd thing
for you can fight for something
and be called brave
or you can take the higher road
and be called brave.

Inspired by the Mingus Big Band playing, "Haitian Fight Song":

In my naive days

In my naive days

In my naive days
not so long ago
I truly believed
that a promised forever
was a given, a fact
but forever was that little moment
that capsule of time
that jewell of a memory
that I'll put away for now.

Inspired by Dexter Gordon playing, "You've Changed":

It's beautiful

It's beautiful

It's beautiful, it's
wonderful, it's astounding
it's splendidly nice.

Inspired by Louis Armstrong playing, "What A Wonderful World":

Moments of today

Moments of today

Moments of today
are tainted by memories
of yesterday's woes.

Inspired by the Marcus Miller Project featuring David Sanborn, "Snakes":

Let's play our song

Let's play our song

Let's play our song
let's tap our beat
let's sing all night
and make it right.

Inspired by the David Sanborn group playing, "Chicago Song":

Happy birthday

Happy birthday

As the candles flame up and out
and sun sets day to night
all that is good, decent, right
is celebrated without doubt.

Inspired by Wynton Marsalis playing, "Happy Birthday":

Happy Birthday Dad!

c'est la vie

c'est la vie

Time together may
be forgotten. Memories
fade, still, c'est la vie.

Inspired by Louis Armstrong playing, "Blueberry Hill":

I'm a dreamer

I'm a dreamer

What can I say? I'm
a dreamer, a desolate
starry-eyed dreamer.

Inspired by Louis Armstrong playing, "A Kiss To Build A Dream On":

Blue's just a color

Blue's just a color

Blue's just a color
why should it or anything
bring me down in mood?

Inspired by Dizzy Gillespie playing, "No More Blues":

I have a remedy

I have a remedy

I have a remedy
for all that is bland
why it is to gather up a song
and a mighty band
to sing our hearts out
in the middle of the night
to dance over troubles
for all that is right.

Inspired by Horace Silver playing, "Cool Eyes":

How can I feel blue?

How can I feel blue?

How can I feel blue
when I count my blessings just
because I'm with you?

Inspired by Toots Thielemans playing, "Bluesette":

When I hear a song

When I hear a song

When I hear a song
I can't help but vibe along
with the groove the feel the
rhythm and how it hits them -
the beat - right beneath my feet
tap tap tapping
clap clap clapping
snap snap snapping
be and a bopping away
moving sliding shuffling
me along with the bustling...
solo that flies over
line that preaches divine
band so grand it creates a
drum bass piano hum!
Oh yes! When I hear a song
I can't help but vibe along.

My sketch of Paquito D'Rivera

Listen to Paquito D'Rivera playing,  "Fantasia Impromptu":

Inspired by Paquito D'Rivera playing "Jazz Meets The Classics" at Regattabar Jazz Club on July 10.

Shock

Shock

The first person you
face each day is yourself and
what a shock that is.

Milt Jackson playing, "People Make The World Go Round":

If every day

If every day

If every day went
your way well there'd be nothing
to say to say to...

Inspired by Gerald Clayton playing, "Sunny Day Go":

Solar

Solar

As the sun calms down
and the stars heat up the night -
solar energy.

Inspired by Miles Davis playing, "Solar":

Cheesecake

Cheesecake

Sweet tiramisu
succulent cheesecakes, cupcakes,
brownies, cookies - yum!

Inspired by Dexter Gordon playing, "Cheesecake":

Grandmasters

Grandmasters

Grandmasters were once
unexperienced, yearning
to learn - what, why, how?

Inspired by Dizzy Gillespie and Paquito D'Rivera:

Merry-go-round

Merry-go-round

Around and around
the merry-go-round goes with
memories galore.

Inspired by the Elvin Jones Quartet playing, "The Children/Merry-Go-Round":

Calm

Calm

Those long summer days
where there is nothing to do
and nothing to say.

Inspired by the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band playing "Con Alma":

Sound

Sound

Sound that hits the ground
ground that fears the sound.

Inspired by Dizzy Gillespie and James Moody in "Mmm Hmm":

Life swings

Life swings

Life swings it's a thing
the trend that will never end
the groove that just moves.

Watch the Stanley Clarke Band:

Inspired by seeing the Stanley Clarke Band at the Montreal Jazz Festival.