Thanks to Joe George of Harrison Township, Michigan, for his facebook review of my compositions. At the Harrison Speakeasy, just north of Detroit, we combined repertoire from the Lunar Octet and Sustainable Jazz and played it all as a quartet, with Keaton Royer, Jeff Dalton, and Jon Krosnick on piano, bass, and drums. This was the first time my music had ever been performed with a quartet. Very rewarding.
"I couldn't help but identify with the music. I never heard a lick of it before, but it still had the familiar sounds of recognizable modern jazz classics like you might hear from Chick Corea or Gino Vannelli. It was absolutely brilliant. The drummer led the band, but each composition was written by Steve Hiltner, who played a mean saxophone, and he wrote the charts for every instrument.
This band wasn't just good, they were NATIONWIDE. Steve is from New Jersey, the bassist hailed from Michigan but of late lives in the Florida Keys. One of the guys lives in California, and the last was from BFE or some such thing. But what great music! It was a real showcase for talent, great writing, and dedication like nobody's business. I'm grateful for the fabulous show and an impressive booking.
People have no idea what went on. And the people that do know seem kinda casual about it. But I know what went on and it blows my mind. To begin with, writing music takes talent. Transcribing music takes hard work and dedication. But writing music for all the musical parts and transcribing all those parts, and then having it all performed together like a Symphony.....and then have us dancing in the aisles because it swings like Ellington, well that's coooool! Like having Mozart hanging around your local tavern."
The never before heard combined with the never before seen. The Harrison Speakeasy has a deep sea diving theme meant to evoke prohibition days, an idiosyncratic patio with swings for chairs, an outdoor game I'll call "kickpool," and a post-gig photo op. Sometimes a creative, "never before" setting can make you feel at home.
The fabulous Phil Orr and I will be back at Salon 33 in West Windsor on Friday, July 12, playing original latin and jazz.
For anyone who lives in or has friends in southeastern Michigan, we'll be performing in a country setting outside Ann Arbor on Friday, May 24 with a 9-piece latin/jazz group that's grown beyond its name, the Lunar Octet. We've been playing all original music for 41 years, in Michigan, California, Ohio, and England. Shows at this venue frequently sell out. Ticket info below.
Ann Arbor: Enjoy an evening of Latin jazz with The Lunar Octet on Friday, May 24 at 7:30 pm in the 130 year old barn at Rancho Tranquilico, while taking in the beauty of acres of farm and prairie land. The setting is casual…bring your favorite portable chair and beverage. https://bit.ly/4aPSwr8I return to Michigan early this year to perform with the Lunar Octet--the all-originals latin-jazz group now in its 41st year. I'm the musical director and primary composer for the group, which toured England in 2022.
Tours in Michigan and California are planned for the summer.
My two lives as bandleader and nonprofit leader have come together this fall.
Our Sustainable Jazz Duo will be performing at the Princeton Community Housing Gala on Friday, October 6.
On August 26, our Lunar Octet performed at the legendary Ark in Ann Arbor, MI.
I'm very fortunate to have such great musicians to perform my original compositions with.
Our Sustainable Jazz Duo performs tonight at Salon 33 from 8-10, after an optional potluck at 7. Registration is required by the host: https://lookingglasspond.wufoo.com/forms/x1on5yya1r9z0mo/
The venue is on Alexander Rd on the way to the train station, with details provided upon registration. It's a nice performance space and community of people, and a donation-based event. We'll be performing all original music--some old, some new--spanning 40 years of composing.
I have two friends named Mimi, and by chance both are part of an organization called People and Stories that asked me to play some solo piano for their spring fundraiser. The forsythia was blooming in vases along the edge of glorious Mackay Lounge at the Seminary, and a grand piano was waiting to be played as people filtered in.
The fundraiser event was very impressive--well attended, with a very articulate and moving expression of the organization's mission by one of its leaders, followed by a reading and Q and A by famed author Jennifer Egan. She kept the audience spellbound through her reading, the sort of rapt attention where you could have heard a pin drop. Egan is a gifted writer and an equally gifted presenter. It turned out to be their best attended benefit to date.
May 6, 3pm - Princeton Public Library -- Join us in the Community Room for tuneful, joyful all-original jazz and latin
May 13 - Salon 33 -- a long-standing music series, now based in West Windsor. Potluck at 7pm, concert at 8pm. Contact me for more info.
May 10 -- Blue Llama, Ann Arbor, MI -- I'll be performing many of my original compositions with the Lunar Octet.
The Lunar Octet, our latin/jazz group now in its 40th year, played a four night engagement earlier this year at one of Detroit's premier jazz clubs, the Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe. All-original music, sold-out shows, a standing ovation or two--it was a good week.
You can come to test drive an eCar or eBike, get a free tuneup of your existing bicycle, donate an old bike you no longer need, get some food or Bent Spoon ice cream, and of course listen to our original latin and jazz music wafting over the proceedings. Should be a great event hosted by the highly capable folks at Sustainable Princeton
Thanks to the Kinston Historical Society and Fire Department for inviting us to perform for their first town picnic in eight years, in Kingston Park. The Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands was also there to share information about their work at what was long called the Mapleton Preserve.
A performance at Portola Valley Vineyards on August 21 completed our Lunar Octet tour in California.
This samba keeps getting interrupted before launching into a fullblown groove. Phil Orr on piano is a one-man samba. Composer Steve Hiltner performs on alto sax. Recorded live in April, 2022 in West Windsor, NJ.
