Hotel Windows
On tour, the hotel window view often gives me my first moment of relative stillness after hours of motion. Sometimes it gives me the best view I'll have of a town before moving on. Other times it requires an exercise of aesthetic patience. For better or for worse, with the number of nights a year I spend on the road, hotel windows provide me with the view from my home-in-transit -- an ever-changing constant. Here's what I see when I look out.
Last updated: July 10, 2008
Chicago
Of the many home towns I feel I have these days, where I have been taken in Sydney, Paris, Aarhus, Valencia, New York none is really more homey than home. Here are some shots of action at base camp.
Last Updated: November 18, 2006
The Road
Airport, pick up, sound check, master-class, dinner, gig, business, pack, sleep, repeat. And occasionally we get an afternoon off.
Last Updated: July 22, 2008
Four Brothers
I had the idea to pull Four Brothers together because I wanted to make music and quality time with my most direct musical antecedents, Jon Hendricks and Mark Murphy. It seemed natural to round out the group with my friend Kevin Mahogany, with whom I share a generational and genre-specific affinity. I knew we would have fun, and I was right. Moreover, when Kevin’s solo schedule got crowded, I was able to rotate on some of the other great singers whose work I love – even pulling in Sheila Jordan for a night in which “Four Brothers” became “Three Brotha’s and a Motha’”. I smile again even as I think of it now.
The Recording Academy
I began a relationship with the Recording Academy the year I got signed to Blue Note. After an election to the Board of Governors of the Chicago Chapter, I began to see the possibility of moving things around a bit within the Academy, focusing its energy more on Jazz, Folk, Classical and the Blues. Between 1999 and 2005 I put in two terms as a national trustee and two further terms as national Vice Chairman. I learned a lot with all that committee and communications work, and came to appreciate more and more deeply the intentions and year-round activities of the Academy. Believe me, the GRAMMYS are more than a one-night massive pop music showcase.
