On March 28, 2020 I wrote a chord progression based on some of the Random Harmony Exercises of Kenny Werner. I continued to write at least one progression a day for a year. I used two 12-sided dice. One pink, one blue. On the pink die, I assigned a number to each of the 12 types of...
Thrilled folks are digging LULL: Sounds for Sleep. Find it on Bandcamp, Spotify, iTunes, or any other platform you dig. Thanks to Andrew Waterman at The Telegram for this great piece. Check out the audio portion. It was lovely chatting with a fellow musician about what we love: MUSIC! Thanks to Ramraajh Sharvendiran at CBC NL in...
CHECK OUT MY FIRST CHRISTMAS SINGLE EVER! Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. How The Grinch Stole Christmas Everyone met a grinch this year. This solo guitar version is tailor made for those to like to clomp around at a distance and get into the spirit...
Hee-Haw wasn’t that funny to me. I watch it now and actually laugh at the jokes. But when I was younger, it was the music that seduced me. I felt like I had to sit through the jokes and the girls sitting on hay bales in order to get to Roy Clark. The first instrument I...
My love of The Shaggs is no secret. Their music intoxicating and pure. My journey towards them led to Brittany Anjou. Out of the blue, I contacted her about her work with Dot Wiggin and she graciously agreed to answer these questions in detail. Brittany wrote to me from the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Center Music...
I feel sad writing this next sentence in the past tense. Roy Hargrove was an incredible musician. He died this weekend at only 49. As a trumpeter and musician, he stayed open. He found a way to bring his unique sound and ideas into a range of situations. To me, that’s about the best you...
My new record “After Forgetting” is finally out. This one took a while to get together. It features my dear friend Bill Brennan on piano. Bill and I have a great relationship on and off stage. We know how to make each other laugh and we’ve really been there for each other through the years....
31. Frank Zappa – Hot Rats (1969) Many moons ago I inherited/borrowed/stole many dozens of records from my uncle. Mainly Beefheart and Zappa. So this music has been a big part of me since grade 9 – not yesterday. The jazz inspired aspects of this record stand out for me, but it is in many ways an...
26. Weather Report – Mysterious Traveler (1974) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3qDGChRDDY This is like all of the music of the world at once. How many hours did I spend in the Music Resource Centre listening to this on vinyl with the headphones smushed right into my wear? That years later my love of this record was shared and confirmed with...
17. Dave Douglas – Charms of the Night Sky (1998) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opNFFsZ-5T4 People always ask me “what trumpeters do you like?” I know they don’t mean anything by that question, but when I hear it I am reminded that I am musician who happens to play trumpet. I sometimes wish I picked something easier, something that didn’t transpose,...