Things are picking up speed again with a new show this weekend at The Tompkins Corners Cultural Center in Putnam Valley, NY. The space is a beautiful of converted church and we're bringing to it some gorgeous jazz standards and original written in the standard style. A second set includes some of my special blend jazz/blues, with a little of funk here, and a touch of swing there. Once again, excited to be joined by Steve Raleigh on guitar, T. Xiques on drums, & Jim Curtin on bass.

Come on out and join us! It's an easy drive from all points east west north and south, especially from the Taconic: it's just off the Peekskill Hollow Rd. exit.

Playing Dogwood bar & restaurant in Beacon tonight, Friday, January 27th!

Looking forward to a couple of sets of covers & originals. With events as they are lately, it's been good to finally get some of the topical stuff out there. Here's one that gives you an idea of what I mean. Feeling it, and funky.

Upcoming shows in 2017

7:00pm on January 14th in the front room (entrance on Main St.) at the Towne Crier in Beacon, NY. This is on the town's Second Saturday, when all the shops and galleries are open late with openings, music, and other events. Stop by for a drink and a listen or to get some supper and settle in. We'll play a couple of sets. No cover.

8:30pm on January 27th at Dogwood Bar across Beacon town on East Main St. The new menu here is killer and the place has a lively pub atmosphere. It's a cozy stage but the sound in that room is really great every time. This show, like the one on the 14th, will be with the ever fabulous Steve Raleigh, Jim Curtin & T. Xiques. No cover but donations welcome.

Cassandra Studio

Some gigs are coming up again soon - January 14th & 27th, for starters - but there've been a lot of hours in the studio, lately, recording and mixing demos & tracks for what will the the 3rd and 4th records. While the 2nd is still in mixing stage. Yes, I'm guilty of overextending and proliferation, and all the charts and samples and demos and mixes are evidence. Swimming in it. But I've had a fantastic opportunity the past few years to hunker down and write and record a lot of material, and I've gone for it.

While finishing up a collection of standards and standard-like originals at Root Cellar Studio in Cold Spring, which by the way are gorgeous and thank you so much Todd Giudice, I began preparing to all the new songs, and brought them to a different studio to get a feel for how they would sound in a different environment. Rob Kissner at Cassandra Studio in Beacon has accommodated me while in the midst of mixing his own most recent record, and between us we've gotten down basic tracks for quite a few songs. The players I've roped into yet more of my music, Stave Raleigh, Jim Curtin and T. Xiques are as always brilliant and easy-going, and things sound really, really great.

An Old Favorite

Round about Christmas time last year I was tinkering around with some carols and came up with a chord progression for Good King Wenceslas that had a lot of major 7 chords in it, and a few minors. It was a mellow, jazzy sound, oddly compelling. It's completely different than the original, but the message is just the same, so compassionate and almost eerily vivid. Such beautiful simple lines. Anyway, I recorded it on my zoom late that night, and despite all its faults sometimes I find listening to it is calming and inspiring. This winter has been pretty unwintery so far, at least around here. That will change soon enough, but even without it I feel the need in the world for this compassion. I need to remember that empathy and courage are within us and can't be legislated out of existence. Sometimes music is a way to remember that.


Good King Wenceslas revisited - on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzygifKJ6vI