I went to see – well, to check out – a jam session in Studio City tonight. It was at one of the oldest clubs, and the oldest jazz club, in LA: The Baked Potato (I got…
Browsing CategoryMusic
Practice is not always necessary.
If I am perfectly happy with my skills I already have, and am confident I can retain them without practicing, there is no need for me to practice. If I find more joy resonating in…
Information vs. Innovation
Real innovation comes from having the courage to sound like yourself. There’s a catch, though. Part of sounding like yourself is knowing what “you” sounds like. And you can’t know that until you listen to…
Why Intimacy Is More Important Than Music
There is a lot of Music, but not a lot of true human connection, in the world. Open a streaming app, like Spotify or Pandora, or an online media store, like iTunes. Go to a…
Anything But An Artist
I’ve never felt inclined to do anything I’m “supposed” to do. “Supposed to” meaning it’s not coming from me, but from somewhere or someone else. I believe a lot of Artists fall into this trap….
Reaching A Higher Level: Understand That Life Has “Layers” And “Seasons”
In order to reach a higher level at any Art, skill, Craft, Vision, stage of life, or Way of Being than one is currently at, one must have the discipline to “chunk away” at it,…
“Creative Altruism”: The Missing Link
I was just on the phone with a friend. The conversation seemed to hover around the merits of letting ourselves have our moments of glory, our “day under the sun,” versus being more concerned with…
Second Guessing: Friend Or Foe?
I’m going to be honest: I haven’t completed a piece of music since June. It takes me, on average, a month to write a song. But a song can take me up to six months…
A Song I Like
The song “The Pretender” by Jackson Browne has long been one of my all-time favorites. I love the music and the lyrics, but I also love the sentiment behind it. When we’re young, we look…
Living Philosophers, Yogis, and Free Jazz
Kenny Werner is a jazz pianist, composer, educator, author, and mystic, and one of my favorite people, although I haven’t yet met him (working on that). Last night, I stumbled across a YouTube of one…