Experience the culture

Jazz
is more than the surface of it all, you know

yeah,
there's the quartets, quintets, big bands
trumpets, saxophones, drum sets

there's the standards
from Broadway, TV, movies
the bop tunes
those great Wayne Shorter songs
we all hum down the street

there's the legends
Bird
Dizzy
Pops
Duke
Trane
Ella
Billie
Prez
Hawk
Count
Miles

there's the informal formalness
jam sessions
cutting contests
hangs galore

there's the soloing
the going in
the complete release of inhibition

there's the directness of it
channeling the true self
channeling a higher being
channeling God

there's the history of it
the blues aren't from a textbook
this music was made from blood
this music was made from people
that had no other way to make it
than to live through it

this stuff, this jazz we all talk so much about
is real
is raw
is authentic

this stuff, jazz,
isn't made in a school, a book, in a recipe
you can't just buy two eggs, some flour
and sugar and wait for it to come out of the oven
you can't just buy a book of magic spells
or take a potion and start playing lines

this stuff - jazz -
is made out there
in real time
with real people
in real places

and to anyone that labels it as a music...
I'd dare you to go out there, close your eyes, feel the vibes and
experience the culture.

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.

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.

No mystery

No mystery

Grateful - it is no
mystery why I love jazz
or why I love you.

My sketch of Stanley Clarke

Stanley Clarke Band playing, "No Mystery".

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

Network

Network

Cultures, sounds,
people, places,
time zones,
a single instant
- captured.

My sketch of  Charnett Moffett

My sketch of Jeff Tain Watts

Inspired by the NettWork Trio at the Montreal Jazz Festival: Charnett Moffett, Stanley Jordan & Jeff Tain Watts

Free

Free

I wanted to be free
I honestly always did
but I felt trapped in some way
for reasons unexplained

I thought maybe getting rid of
s
t
r
u
c
t
u
r
e
would put me in my place

I thought I could rebel and
change my self
polar
        opposite

Then I'd be free you see...
because who I am isn't free...
so who I'm not would be...

But as life went on and
days grew to weeks months a year
I started looking different in
my own mirror - a cage -
bandaged wounded trapped

Away with structure away with
schedule away with rules away with...me?

I wanted to be free
I honestly always did
but in order to be free
I had to take the plunge -
accept me.

My sketch of Ornette Coleman

RIP Ornette Coleman. 

Royal

Royal

Royalty isn't
just for kings and queens but for
innovators too.

My sketch of Duke Ellington

Inspired by Jazz at Lincoln Center playing Duke Ellington's "Royal Garden Blues".

Bebop

Bebop

Bebop is more than
a sound; it's a language: sharp,
witty, family.

My sketch of Dizzy Gillespie

Inspired by Dizzy Gillespie playing, "Bebop".

What are you doing?

What are you doing?

What are you doing
the rest of your life - for I
see our future now.

Inspired by Frank Sinatra singing, "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?"

Concerto

Concerto 

And the strings seem to pull
while the brass seem to shout
and the drums seem to push
while the clarinet soars above
a jazz symphony
a classical improvisation.

Inspired by Artie Shaw playing, "Concerto for Clarinet".

Criss cross

Criss cross

I used to get quite upset
by every little fault
or lack of perfection
someone calling me out
or me calling myself out
but as I become more aware
of myself and the world around me
wrong is right too.

My oil painting of Thelonious Monk

Inspired by Thelonious Monk playing, "Criss Cross".

What I hear

What I hear

What do I hear? 

I hear shapes I hear colors

I hear hills valleys and streams

I hear winter I hear autumn spring

I hear summer in all its warmth

I hear the blues I hear rejoicement

I hear history and its troubles

I hear tradition I hear innovation

I hear jazz I hear music I hear life. 

My sketch of Anat Cohen

My sketch of Kurt Elling

Inspired by Kurt Elling and Anat Cohen performing at Sanders Theater on May 15th. 

A jazz concert

A jazz concert

People ask me what it's like

to go to a jazz concert

so I got to thinking 

how do I explain this?

a night of elation

excitement nervousness anticipation

building building building

entering the venue 

taking a seat front row

dim lights crowded tables

chitter chatter

waiting waiting waiting

the group comes out

suits on sneakers on hats pressed shirts

spotlight on them applause

a torrent of sound erupts 

lightning across the sky!

a familiar tune a new way

past present future

the group melds as one

solos pass along each performer

a narrative a storyline a conversation

fresh free fun fantastic

the sound seems to come from a higher source

hearing notes lines phrases stories
philosophizing through sound

everything is happening right now

clapping along each solo amazement 

you turn to look at the people in the club

the guy rocking back and forth

the woman closing her eyes in thought

the guy calmly drinking grooving along

the exuberant smiles popping 

feet tapping legs moving bodies swaying

feeding energy to the artists

and the music! 

zig zags circles lines spirals

red blue green yellow purple

clashing here dissolving there

purpose intention focus

and all the while I am happier here - there

at that jazz concert 

than anywhere else in the world

there is nothing so joyous as live jazz

for it reminds me that I am alive.

My sketch of Dave Douglas and Joe Lovano (L to R)

Inspired by Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Sound Prints playing, "Destination Unknown" at Scullers Jazz Club on May 14th. 

Stardust

Stardust

I cannot fall asleep most nights
for the darkness seems so bright
full of stars full of dreams full of tomorrows
and the simplicity of silence soars as a symphony
keeping me awake rolling over possibilities
imagining stardust lighting a path
to the sea to the stars to the Milky Way
oh the places I could go!

My sketch of Artie Shaw

Inspired by Artie Shaw playing, "Stardust".

City of lights

City of lights

As I look out into the night
I hear the sounds, I see the lights
and for once in my life
everything feels all right.

My sketch of Tony Williams

Inspired by Tony Williams playing, "City of Lights".

I wish

I wish

I wish
oh how I wish
the whole world was the way I see it
grand
gorgeous
gregarious
and free from all evil.

My sketch of Billy Taylor

Inspired by the Billy Taylor Trio playing, "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free".

I wanted to change the world

I wanted to change the world

I wanted to change the world
that's all I ever wanted to do
I thought about it night and day
it haunted my dreams
I always felt
restless
anxious
nervous
to be doing something of
importance
I would go so far as to
make posters and hang them
up all over my room
inspirational quotes galore
I would write in journals
with bubbly star-eyed letters
and make lists upon lists upon lists
I would find people and tell them
my plans and how pertinent they were
and how I needed help
I had this seed of an idea
and always yearned for the water to
grow it into a tree
so something was missing
as something always is
from making the world change overnight
so I thought and I thought and I got so
caught up in the thought that nothing ever did change
until one day where I was planning away and I
remarked upon myself so lonely so sad so needy
oh how the posters meant nothing to the eye
if it wasn't I who could do something more
to change the world is to start by changing
yourself and to change yourself is to start by
changing the world
that's all I ever wanted to do.

My sketch of Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea

Inspired by Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock playing duo at Symphony Hall on April 12th.

Energy

Energy

Energy flowing
up down around across all
angles of music.

My sketch of Vijay Iyer

Inspired by Vijay Iyer playing, "Break Stuff".

for you

for you

for you for you for you for you
i write this song for you and only you
for me and only me to hear.

Inspired by Bill Evans playing, "Waltz for Debby".

Details

Details

It's quite funny how
you pass things everyday and
never notice them.

Inspired by Chet Baker playing, "I Fall in Love too Easily".