I know I’ve mentioned Joni a number of times on this blog. And much like my personal arrival to her music, I was exposed to her via a variety of secondary sources before diving deep into her own catalogue. Be it a couple friends who are devotees, Miles Electric: Another Kind of Blue, James Taylor, Tom [...]

This is a real nice trip down memory lane for yours truly. I intended to post some Charles Lloyd this time week, but for whatever reason decided to a (more than) slight detour and opt for Zwan. Zwan was the first big post-Smashing Pumpkins musical foray for Billy Corgan, and arguably his most successful. 2005′s [...]

I’m busy with a lot of playing this week, so I’m posting another vid that doesn’t require too much annotation: a live performance of The Grateful Dead‘s “Shakedown Street” from 1989. This particular performance has been one I’ve returned to time and again for the last few years. Although I don’t quite consider myself a [...]

I’ve been focused on my doubles – flute, clarinet, and piccolo – recently, as I’m performing in an upcoming production of Annie. Even though flute’s my primary double instrument, I’ve been playing it more than usual for this gig. And as a result, I’ve had notable doublers on my mind, one of jazz’s greatest being [...]

Have I really gone this whole time without featuring James Carter? Shame on me! I remember the first time I heard Mr. Carter: I was listening to Lazaro Vega’s Jazz From Blue Lake one night in early 2000 (a nightly ritual at that time), and that night’s featured artist was James Carter. Every night featured a different [...]