Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2023 i JazzTimes

However, there are some things that are part of my daily life. I do my fair share of traveling and performing, so maintaining a “daily” routine does pose a challenge. I am often on the road at day, playing at night, some days, I am doing interviews, photoshoots, or attending colleagues’ performances, or visiting the horn shop to get my saxophone repaired, or working on new music. Every day starts and ends with working through music business matters, big and small, with my manager, Morana. It just so happens that she, conveniently and luckily for me, also happens to be my wife, and mom to our son, Prince. Together we tackle all the day-to-day business matters that come with being a professional musician. Afternoons are a time reserved for our…

I MUST SHARE, in all honesty, that being given the gig of writing a monthly column for the legendary JazzTimes is an honor and quite daunting at the same time. But it is also exciting that I have been included in the new direction of this venerable publication, one which that acknowledges and embraces diverse voices, artists, and ideas in embracing the American art form called jazz. I believe I am in a unique position aAs a board-certified clinical psychologist, professor of psychology and behavioral medicine, author, talking head on the news, part-time musician, actor, producer, and reality show shrink, I believe I am in a unique position to give a different take on how jazz has and continues to influence and change the world. In no way am I…

CLUES 1. South of 125th where they celebrate Charlie Parker every year. (combined word) 2. So fast it will make you Dizzy. 3. It does include the bridge you know. 4. You have a minor problem if you’re above a C. 5. It was definitely more than 120 of these. 6. Mike Tyson and Charlie Parker have this in common. 7. The other half of Ellington’s fantasy. 8. It means something, a symbol of sorts especially when thrown at you. 9. It might be on 44th now but nine blocks up was the original hang. 10. What does a trumpet legend and a library have in common? 11. When it’s funky, we all say it! 12. One flat and 12 bars you can always count on, no matter who wrote…

On a Saturday night, circa 2002, I was singing with a jazz trio at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Redondo Beach, CA. To my wonderment and surprise, in walked the great Nancy Wilson, one of my jazz idols. She was with a handful of girlfriends and they’d just returned from the funeral of her friend’s father. I began singing “Who Can I Turn To?” I was singing with my eyes closed and suddenly heard applause. I opened my eyes, to see Nancy stepping up to the microphone. Now I really thought I was dreaming. I handed her the mic, and she finished the song with me. She told me afterwards, her friend requested she sing it. On the break, Nancy spent about fifteen minutes talking with me. She was so…

I would like to thank the current JazzTimes editor for allowing my voice to be heard. This is being addressed two years after Weiner’s 2021 heavily biased article because Mac Randall (JazzTimes’ former editor) would not allow my story to be told. My complaint is about the biased, one-sided depiction of my legal dispute with Maria Grand, which was never ethically investigated by Weiner. The article should’ve been limited to Grand’s music. My defamation litigation is ongoing, despite what was falsely claimed in Weiner’s article. It shouldn’t have been mentioned at all without proper vetting — unless the purpose was to help Grand. Grand’s narrative relies heavily upon the tendency to dehumanize Black men as violent, scary, and distrustful, in keeping with this nation’s long history of confirmation bias. The…

March marks a bit over 17 years since I’ve relocated to Austria from the US. I taught my first class on March 6, 2006 as Professor for Jazz Drums in Graz. My definition of home is the place where you experience your highest highs and your lowest lows – I’m home. I’ve been fortunate enough to work as a tenured professor with brilliant colleagues and talented students. I’ve made 27 recordings as a sideman and one recording of my original compositions while in Europe. The projects I accept as sideman are connections with the music and great musical personalities with whom I am thrilled to consort. One could say I’m free, but none of us is truly free. I do exist artistically within those boundaries. Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius teaches…