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What's New?
Check out my "Myspace" page:
Lot's of other great stuff to tell you about...read on!
Unbelievable! The West Michigan Jazz Society has chosen me as its "Jazz Musician of the Year" for 2008! I
don't even know what to say...I'm stunned. All I can say is "THANK YOU" to all the members of the WMJS and to all
the great jazz musicians I get to play with and learn from on a regular basis. There are so many great musicians in West
Michigan and I am lucky to count them among my mentors and friends. I feel like they deserve this award so much more than
me...I don't know what to say. I'm just very grateful. Thank you. Please join us for the celebration on May 29 upstairs
at the Wege Center at Aquinas College.
The Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra has found a couple of new homes for live gigs: Founders and Naya, both in Grand Rapids!
Click the "Gigs" link at the top of the page to check on dates.
The world-premier of "In Case You Haven't Heard, ______ ____ ___!" was a big success! We didn't have too many
people in the house, but the performers were in top form and response from those that were in attendance was VERY positive.
We're looking for other opportunities to perform it and I'll keep you posted.
I'm very excited to have been invited to appear at the Clintondale Jazz Festival as their guest soloist! I'll be playing
with the high school big band and we'll be performing four of my original big band compositions. The concert will be held
April 26, 2008. Follow the link above for more info.
"Contemplating the Heavens" has been "on the shelves" for a while now. It continues to sell pretty
well, considering it's not pop music! You can follow the link above to check it out. Hopefully you'll like it enough to
buy a copy of your own! I can't express my gratitude emphatically enough...to the musicians involved, to my tolerant and
supportive family, to poet Linda Nemec Foster who wrote the original sequence of poems, to John Stites at Arcadia Recording,
to Lazaro Vega at Blue Lake Public Radio who wrote the liner notes, and on and on. So many people have been so supportive
of this project and have worked so hard to bring it to life...I owe a lot of favors!
We had a great time at the world premier performance of "Contemplating the Heavens." Linda Nemec Foster read
her wonderful poetry and an all-star cast of Michigan's finest musicians played the music. It was a ball! Now we're exploring
other venues for a repeat performance. Check back often...I'll keep you posted. If you were one of the beautiful folks who
attended the event, THANK YOU! You keep the arts alive.
I would like to extend my personal thanks to Barbara McCargar, Kathy Zimmerman, and Todd Wilke at Aquinas College for
helping us bring the premier to life. My deepest thanks goes out ot my friend Kurt Ehinger who recorded the event and managed
the sound system for us.
Also, "Evidence" has completed it's latest CD! It's called "The Message" and it's been getting quite
a bit of airplay. Look for it at Schuler's Books on 28th Street in Grand Rapids.
Be sure to check out upcoming gigs on my calendar. It
would be great to see you!
After you check out the site, why not drop me a line and let me know what you've been up to, what you're listening to,
what's on your mind?
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