California Tour 2025

This summer, we had two tours with the Lunar Octet, the jazz/latin band I've been a part of since its beginnings 42 years ago. I write most of the music for the group, much of which I composed in New Jersey and perform locally with pianist Phil Orr in our Sustainable Jazz duo. 

Additional compositions for the Octet come from our conguero, Aron Kaufman. Occasionally we pull out a beautiful ballad by drummer Jon Krosnick. Though based in Ann Arbor, the Lunar Octet also has a California version. Jon, a Stanford professor who periodically performs with renowned trumpeter Randy Brecker, booked our Lunar Octet for 8 gigs in 5 days this past June.

The final gig was in a central plaza in Sonoma, with our all-original music drifting out to a thousand people enjoying a beautiful afternoon.

Other gigs were at the Las Positas Vineyard and a brewery named the SacYard.

It's always a good feeling to play amidst the stacks at libraries, many of which have beautiful central spaces for the community to gather.

One highlight was playing as a sextet at Mr. Tipples Jazz Club in downtown San Francisco. 

To play these tours, members of the band converge from all over the country. Bassist Jeff Dalton flies in from the Florida Keys, conguero Aron Kaufman travels from Michigan. To fill out the band, drummer Jon Krosnick recruited his fabulous California-based colleagues, with Murray Low on keyboard, Tod Dickow on tenor sax, and new addition Chris Aschman lighting up the stage with his trumpet playing.

Michigan Tour, July 2025

This past July, our Lunar Octet toured for two weeks in Michigan, performing our all-original latin and jazz at gigs ranging from Ann Arbor up to Traverse City.

One of the first gigs was at our favorite jazz club, the Blue Llama down on Main Street in Ann Arbor. Such a special place to play, with stellar performances from the Michigan contingent of the band: Zen Zadravec on piano, multi-instrumentalist Paul Vornhagen, Tim Blackmon on trumpet, Olman Piedra on percussion, guitarist Sam Clark, and conguero Aron Kaufman.

A few gigs later we were up in the beautiful Traverse City area as a quintet, casting our original latin and jazz out across a picnic area at St. Ambrose Cellars. Jon Krosnick leads the group from behind the drums, and Jeff Dalton provides steady, melodic underpinning for the grooves, and virtuosic bass solos. 

A library in Hamburg seemed disconnected from any downtown, and yet serves as a vibrant community center for many in the vicinity. During one of our sets, a thunder storm blew through with high winds and pelting rain, adding a dramatic visual backdrop.

Our final stop was Rancho Tranquilico, a concert series hosted by farmer and open space preservationist Barry Lonik, with a late evening light show provided by the fireflies.