Upcoming Performances and New Compositions

Gigs coming up for Sustainable Jazz, which we like to say plays all original music that's organically composed using solar powered imaginations. 

• The Sustainable Jazz duo will be performing Saturday, April 9 at Salon 33, out Alexander Road in West Windsor. You can join a potluck dinner at 7, followed by a performance from 8-10:15.
• April 25, a performance for members of Community Without Walls, who want to hear our original music along with an update on progress at Herrontown Woods and Veblen House. This one's not open to the general public.

There's a playlist on my youtube channel of our Until I Find the Words CD. Hopewell pianist Phil Orr and I have been working up some new material. Some of the tune names:

Maybe More Than Maybe, Baby -- A straight-ahead swing tune that, if it had lyrics, could be about a guy who's in love but isn't used to coming right out and saying it. 

Just Do It -- This one's theme popped into my head as I was heading home from a Princeton University women's soccer game. The team has great spirit, and the sense of going for it out there on the field must have sparked something musically.

Start-Stop Samba -- A samba that keeps getting interrupted before reaching a full groove.

Declaration -- Takes the musicians and the listeners on a journey, with different feels and melodies over ascending basslines, before returning to the opening declaration.  

Climbing the Mountain -- Jazz tunes often have chord progressions that move downward (e.g. 3, b3, 2, b2, 1). This one has a bass line that keeps ascending, like climbing a mountain.

This Year for the Lunar Octet: Gigs in Michigan, California, and England

For nearly 40 years I've been musical director for the group persistently known as the Lunar Octet, playing original jazz latin, with gigs this year in Michigan, California, and England.

The Blue Llama, a gorgeous art deco jazz club on Main Street in Ann Arbor, has been a recurrent venue, including a gig earlier this month, but April 6 and 7 we'll be performing at the Dirty Dog in Detroit. There's a trip or two this summer to California, and September 23 we'll be headlining at the Scarborough Jazz Festival in England. 

To my right on the bandstand are the prolific performers Paul Vornhagen on various reeds and Brandon Cooper on trumpet and flugelhorn.

Sam Clark and Jeff Dalton are the string section behind me. Jeff has been shifting to a seaside existence in the Florida Keys, where he's become increasingly busy performing with bands while working remotely on internet security.

And to my left are Aron Kaufman and Jon Krosnick on drums. Aron is teacher of kids by day and master of congas by night, bringing his playful spirit and soulfulness to both endeavors. Jon has multiple careers--a professor of political psychology at Stanford while performing intensely with his trio, the Charged Particles, all the while booking and promoting the Lunar Octet. 

Not quite sure how they pull it all off, day after day, but we're fortunate to find time to periodically gather for performances and even a few rehearsals to learn new material. This month we played to a packed room, including many who looked to be students at the University of Michigan taking advantage of a thriving downtown.