Speaking of Jazz Singers

Well it’s a beautiful February morning here in Nashville.  After an incredibly rewarding weekend of playing with Gladys Knight, spring has descended upon us here and is working hard to make us forget about our frozen troubles. One moment that we SHOULD try to freeze in time is this one. I recall seeing Esperanza play bass in Donald Harrison’s quintet at Newport in the summer of 2007 and being blown away by her playing and presence.  I didn’t know anything about her then and she didn’t sing on this gig, but her love and passion for music and performance were communicated as clearly as any artist I have EVER seen or heard. Speaking of inspiring jazz singers, I’m very happy to announce the special guest …

Read More

How do I know if I’m ready?

The onset of February has made me realize I’ve been downright awful at keeping up with posts here – my apologies!  Rest assured that the recent inactivity of this blog in no way reflects the musical happenings here in Tennessee. I’ve finally got the ball rolling on my most important project to date, although I am hesitant to talk about it before I have all of the details finalized. Exciting news: next week I’ll be backing up Gladys Knight with the Nashville Symphony.  The “Empress of Soul” had her major hits before my time, but if you haven’t listened to ‘Midnight Train to Georgia‘ recently, you absolutely must! The monthly jam session started off 2011 very well with a great performance and information session provided …

Read More