How do you get a kid to do something for which they have limited interest? Sometimes it’s just a matter of finding the right incentive. This summer, I wanted my 13-year old son to learn the twelve major scales on his instrument. (Knowing scales is foundational for all music making,…
As many of you know, running has become a daily discipline and passion for me in recent years. In May I ran the Providence Marathon, completing it in 3:24:16. I had thoughts of running the Hartford Marathon in October, but a couple of months into training, my body was telling…
I had the pleasure of playing with tenor saxophonist Grant Stewart on Tuesday evening at the Northampton Jazz Workshop. It is interesting our paths hadn’t crossed before, given that Grant and I are both originally from Canada. He’s a really solid player with a firm grasp of the hard bop…
Three mass shootings in one week, not to mention countless other gun related deaths (suicides, domestic violence, homicides, accidents, etc.) — Is this enough to incite change and spur our lawmakers into action?
Even now, after having studied and played jazz music for more than three decades, there’s still plenty I will admit to not knowing about the art form, and the context in which much of it was created. I was drawn to this music in the late 1980’s, as a Canadian…