New Music and More New Music, and New Thinking...

I took a break from writing my blog. Not because I wanted or needed a break. I took a break because life is dynamic, and I have been creating a high volume of music.

So what's new? I have a new album coming out called "ALIVE," which was recorded in Valencia, Spain in October. I wrote about it in my blog back in October (from a train in Spain). I am so excited about this album. Three singles are out already on streaming platforms. The band is phenomenal. Each song is a celebration of being fully alive. From staying in bed a little longer to connect in the morning, to slipping away for a mini-break, to approaching work with integrity and focus. ALIVE even touches on the purpose of life. It is fun and zesty and very much alive.

I have also written and recorded a new project in New York which will be released in February of 2025 called "Sweetness." This is a charming project. It's effervescent and au courant. It's buoyant new jazz with a light touch, written in this moment for the needs and hearts of this moment. This album is in the mixing phase and I am working on cover art and all of that fun stuff.

I have also been enjoying setting poetry by Sufi Master Alireza Nurbakhsh to music. It has been a joyful ongoing creative process for me.

I have another project on the horizon which I am excited about, with global elements and squarely in the jazz idiom, that will go into ancient misty and fragrant places both musically and in storytelling. More on that as the silk spool of it unwinds. I am only embarking on the songwriting of that now.

On other fronts, I have made a decision to pull down many of my projects from streaming services. I started to look at my catalog (which is now 16 albums) the way a museum curator might look at their collection of works. I have more created work than I need to display at all times. I am curating the streaming selection to the mood of my current work. Some works go into storage and come out from time to time. Other works are on permanent display. This is one of the great luxuries of being independent. Being an independent artist has its challenges, but artistic freedom is not one of them.

What else is new? AI is new! I have some thoughts on AI as well. AI doesn't scare me. It's a tool. Some people will use it for good, others will use it for less noble causes. AI does not dictate human nature, human nature will dictate how AI is used. And human nature has been around as long as humans have. With all of that said, I am an artist and a human being who values authenticity and nature with all of its organic unpredictability, and my life is well-tuned and equipped for change. I will look for supportive ways to incorporate AI into my life to do the jobs that AI is great at, which is not creating my art for me. AI can help organize my office work. Who doesn't love that? Of course, I will need to double-check AI's work as I would with any assistant.

That's about it for today. I'll end with the thought that I am hopeful. For a long time, I looked at the horizon thinking, "Where is the END of this tunnel?" Then, "Where is the light IN this tunnel?" And now I am thinking "What tunnel?" The weight of the world and much of the last 8+/- years have felt a lot like a dark cavern that we were all going through globally: various un-rest, the pandemic, conflict, a widening income gap, and so on... and then in an effort to lift others, I started to write music about playfulness and living fully, and all of the magic elements in life, and you know what happened? I felt better. I felt hopeful. It's a cliché for a reason. "Help Yourself By Helping Others," because it's very real. Maybe I'm the first case study of the effects of my own music. Having created and simmered in this new music (three albums) on the subject, I feel better, and more hopeful — more aware of the magic and beauty all around me, in the little things, and the people and places I see everywhere.

There's so much more to come, my friends. Stick around, tag along, join the conversation, and just be with me on this journey your company is appreciated.