After a summer of touring with the Yellowjackets, a project with Kurt Elling and the HR Big Band, a Yellowjackets recording project, and dates with Miroslav Vitous in Sardinia, it's back to New York and the fall routine. Manhattan School of Music is starting up. I have a few different writing projects on the desk, and am looking forward to searching for new combinations of the 12 tones.

The new Jackets recording turned out nicely with further adventures into the realm of obscuring the time. Russell Ferrante wrote three pieces that have subtly wild time feels that swing like crazy, but in a totally different way. The band has reached yet another level of communication and divergence from its earlier path. I’m always amazed at what can happen if you hang in there with the same people musically and make a conscious effort to write music that comes from the heart and mind rather than the Billboard charts (not that there are any Billboard jazz charts any more). This CD should be out in March of '05. Stay tuned.

I spent four days in Santa D’Aressi on the island of Sardinia at the Puntagiara festival. There I played with Miroslav Vitous in trio with Adam Nussbaum, and in a quintet with Miroslav, Randy Brecker, Billy Cobham, and Umberto Chamaruggi. Miroslav’s music was very inspiring. He writes in a way that suggests certain shapes and melodies, but leaves the execution of said melodies up to the discretion of the player. The level of communication was very high in order to make all this work. I found I had to come to the table in a selfless way in order to interact in a sensible way with the other musicians. A very fun and gratifying way to play music. There were lots of freely improvised moments, most of which worked quite well. The other bands on this festival were very interesting and inspiring. David S. Ware Quartet played as well as Tim Berne, and a duo with William Parker and Hamid Drake was absolutely amazing! Hearing all this music has got me to thinking. I hope to write some new music that in some way reflects this experience in Sardinia.

So with the fall upon us my daily routine will be as follows:
At Home: Walk the dogs, get Paul off to school and Carla off to work, spend an hour at the piano doing some exploratory searching (keeping a log of all information stumbled upon) followed by an attempt to assemble bits of this information to form compositions, work on several orchestra pieces, big band music, and a new sax quartet. The mornings are left for all the creative work. I try to save the phone, faxing, and email for the late afternoon.

On the road my routine consists of a short exercise regimine, some exploratory composing using my imagination and the Sibelius software, then doing some arrangeing-composing of projects, then usually traveling, sound checking, gigging, etc. The transition from home to the road has become fairly seamless in terms of writing and creating new vehicles for playing in great part due to the laptop and the Sibelius program. I have been able to do much more away from a piano lately, which is a nice thing.

Those of us involved in this business of creative music are very fortunate to have a focus of this kind. It can keep you young, intellectually and spiritually stimulated, and provide a great distraction from the trials and tribulations of life as well as an outlet for expression of the feelings that result.

Keep at it!