Looking ahead…
November 11th, 2009I realize it’s only November, but I’m very excited about this spring… the CD release party for the album we recorded at Skyline will be held on May 7 at 7:30 at Smalls Jazz Club.
Big changes…
August 17th, 2009Sorry for the lack of updates. It turns out that George and I will be spending a lot of time in Winnipeg this year, as he is now the Professor of Jazz Piano at the University of Manitoba and I am teaching Basic Jazz Piano Skills. But we also plan to keep our home base in New York, especially from May to August. I am working on getting the new album out - at this point it should be released in April 2010, with a CD release party in NYC in May.
Blue in Blue
June 4th, 2009I have some exciting soon-to-be-news about my 5th album, Blue in Blue. It will be released by one of my favorite labels in January or February - when I have confirmation, I will post all the information here.
Some news…
May 25th, 2009I hope you’re having a great summer! (I know it’s technically spring, but it really feels like summer in New York.) I have a little bit of news…
- My CD “Yearning” was just licensed by Lala.com.
- My CD’s “Watercolor” and “Labyrinth” are now being distributed in Japan.
- The new CD, “Blue in Blue,” should be released sometimes this fall.
- If you’re around on June 2, please come to the Bitter End! I am one of 10 songwriters on the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame New Writers CD, and we’re having a showcase to celebrate. The first 100 people in attendance will get a free compilation CD. More info…
Hartford Baby Grand Jazz Series
April 25th, 2009Hi folks! If you happen to be in Hartford on Sunday, April 26 at 3 pm, I’m playing a solo set at the Hartford Public Library (500 Main Street) for their Baby Grand Jazz Series. Admission is free! Hope to see you there.
(Listing at the bottom)
New York Times Jazz Listing…
February 27th, 2009George and I are playing a jazz piano trio double bill at Cornelia Street Cafe tomorrow (Saturday) night, and we were fortunate to be listed in the New York Times. If you’re free, come out and pay us a visit!
Mixing is finished for CD #5!
December 30th, 2008Yesterday, George and I edited and mixed with Kamilo at Soundworks Recording Studio. Our edits were very minor. The CD has 10 all-original tracks: five piano trio, four quartet and one solo. I re-recorded “Early Spring Chill” in a trio version - this song also appeared on my second album, “Watercolor,” but this time we soloed over it. I will post more news when the CD is available.
We recorded a new jazz CD!
December 10th, 2008On Monday, George, Paul, amazing saxophonist Donny McCaslin and I went into the studio (Donny played four tunes). We also played five trio tunes and I did one solo piece. Skyline is about an hour and a half away from where I live (it’s kind of a haul) but it’s a really great studio with an expert engineer, Paul Wycliffe. This CD was jazz, which is a lot less expensive to record than multi-layered pop.
The session went pretty smoothly until I started getting tired towards the end! We got there around 11 and left at 6. We took the tunes at faster tempos than I realized. Since we didn’t have a lot of time, we didn’t really listen to anything after we played (except during our lunch break). But I think editing will be minimal… we might splice a couple of the drum fade-outs, and I have to fix a chord in the solo piece. I personally don’t find recording to be that pleasant, but I think I’m learning to live with the results a little more. On my second album, Watercolor, my solos drove me so crazy that I actually went in and edited some phrases out.
After the session, Paul kindly drove George and me into Midtown (he had a gig at the Algonquin) and dropped us off at Yakitori Torys, where we totally pigged out.
Now we have to schedule a time for mixing!
The We Heart Music Podcast
October 9th, 2008So around 11:30 pm last night, I was sending out an E-mail about my upcoming gig this Tuesday, and I got a response from Vu at We Heart Music. (If you haven’t visited this cool music review site, you really should!) Anyway, being that this is 2008 and all, Vu wrote, “Would you like to do an interview right now for my podcast?” “Sure,” I wrote back, and within a few minutes he called me and we had a nice conversation… all recorded! If you want to hear what we talked about, the full podcast is going up on Sunday - but here’s an excerpt.
A New Project…
September 24th, 2008So Paul, George and I had so much fun at Groovin’ On The Green that we’ve decided to record the trio. We’re going to do a jazz piano trio record in December (much less expensive than a pop vocal album!), but we might have a special guest on a couple tracks (TBA), and I might record one or two tunes with vocals. This CD will be a mellower one, like Watercolor. The theme will probably be the seasons and the weather.