Excited to head back to my home country to perform this Fri./Sat. Sept. 23 & 24 with some great Canadian musicians - Jim Brenan on sax; Rubim de Toledo on bass; and Jon McCaslin - on drums, as we delve into the music of John Coltrane at Edmonton's Yardbird Suite (where I first performed in the early 90's with Jane Bunnett and Dewey Redman on my first-ever Canadian tour!) Should make for an intense couple of evenings of music-making! While there, I will also be conducting a composition-focused masterclass at MacEwan University on Fri. from 12:30-2 pm.  For more info on the Yardbird event and for tickets, go here.

(l-r): Oliver Lake, Kidd Jordan, myself, Hamiet Bluiett

Just came back from a week of performances in Columbus, OH put together by trombonist/poet Michael VanderDoes in honor of his wife Kate Shulte, featuring Oliver Lake and Hamiet Bluiett, Kidd and Marlon Jordan, plus an exciting group of talented Columbus musicians. In addition to our final performance at the Hot Times Jazz Fest, a highlight for me was definitely our spontaneous jam session with the uplifting dancers and artists of Transit Arts, a great youth organization based in Columbus.

(l-r): myself; Robert Sabin (bs); Vince Ector (dms)

I also just performed this past weekend at the beautiful setting of the ground-floor performance space belonging to WNYC radio, in a special private concert dedicated to my friend, Aaron Cohen, his bride Jennifer Barnette, and their invited guests. Rather than a conventional wedding celebration, Aaron - being the producer he is - centered the entire evening around music, causing me to dust off several "oldie-but-goodies" from my past (click to hear excerpt!)