When Joy Overflows into Music
I'm back home in New York City after a couple of whirlwind weeks in Pittsburgh, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Philadelphia. A few photo highlights:On June 22, photographer Urban Landreman took this shot of me performing with Nnenna Freelon, Chris Berger and Jerome Jennings at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival. Urban said that I was exuding joy and he wanted to capture the moment.
From that same set, bassist Chris Berger took this candid shot during a solo piano intro.
And here's a shot of the full band from the audience.
The following night in Pittsburgh, 200 people packed out City of Asylum at Alphabet City to hear me lead a trio with Jeff Grubbs and Tom Wendt in an all Mary Lou Williams program. The photo is small- but you can give a bigger version here at the City of Asylum Facebook page!
Pittsburgh: I'll see you on September 29 at 3 pm at East Liberty Presbyterian's Cathedral Concerts series!
Several days later, I attended my first Chorus America conference and got to say hello to a woman who always inspires me, composer-teacher Alice Parker (93 years young!).
A final shot: One of my students at the 3-day Mary Lou Williams crash course that I taught in Pittsburgh gave me this inspiring gift, perfect for my travels.