Jan. 16, 2020

January is moving by at a crawl, though at least I was able to add some musical engagements to the calendar for the spring.  (Please see the Schedule page).

Other recent developments that are positive: I am now a contributing writer for the Syncopated Times magazine, and am in the process of organizing a quartet for festival and concert work with my old friend John Royen.  John is a wonderful pianist whose playing has been influenced by Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, Willie “The Lion” Smith and Don Ewell — who John studied with in the 1970s.  I am looking forward to working with this group, and hope to have a lot of quartet dates to post on the calendar.

John Royen (photo by Shannon Brinkman)

There really is not much else to report.  The weather changes drastically, but the cats stay warm even in the coldest weather with their comfortable fur coats.

More music soon (I hope).

— Hal