I am heading to New Orleans, LA for the first time this week! I am meeting up with an incredible group of collaborators to play my "Step by Step: The Ruby Bridges Suite" at the Unitarian Universalist 2017 General Assembly. It has never felt more urgent or important to be making work like this. My friend, and Step by Step's music director, Jason Shelton has put together an all-star team
Read MoreI was surprised and humbled to receive an award at the 2017 Northwest Regional Emmy® Awards last Saturday. I was recognized in the Musical Composition/Arrangement category for my composition in Oregon Public Broadcasting’s (OPB’s) Oregon Experience special “JazzTown” Portland’s Golden Jazz Age.
Read MoreMy friends, we are not there yet. We are not done…
I’ve never been to New Orleans, the Crescent City, the birthplace of jazz. I’ve never been to New Orleans, but I’ll be there in four weeks to perform a piece dedicated to those who marched, prayed, sat-in, and stood up to injustice, who willingly put their bodies on the line, on the bridges, on the streets, in the churches, in the face of violence and brutality, so that I and my descendants could rise.
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