I hope you had a peaceful and blessed holiday season. I’ve been having a great time with the family here in Virginia. Nothing beats being at home with the family!
As I take stock of 2013, I feel so incredibly grateful. It was another year to do what I truly love and share it with a lot of really wonderful people, here on the east coast, as well as venturing out to the magical land of Los Angeles. And, it was a blast performing around the world with Quincy Jones and company this summer!
An unfortunate side note is the end of a two-year run I had at Havana Nights Jazz Club, VA Beach. It was a dream come true to have a venue right in my backyard, not only to play in, but for people to listen to great live music in such an amazing, intimate setting. I learned so much and will always be grateful to Dana Rice and Bert Lowry for having us. It shut its doors in October and will be sorely missed.
But now 2014 is here, and we’re going to keep things moving!
First off, after 4 years of extremely hard work, my buddies Al Hicks and Adam Hart are wrapping up the final edit of their documentary featuring Clark Terry and me. It really shows CT in his element and it'll be wonderful for people to discover what an incredible person and musician he is. The film is scheduled for release late this summer, so I’ll keep you posted!
In addition, I’m thrilled to be working with Quincy Jones (still pinching myself) and Quincy Jones Productions to finally put out my sophomore release. I plan to periodically post ideas and sketches on my website to share the process with you, and would love to hear what you think. We plan to have it available around the same time as the documentary.
In the meantime, tracks from my latest solo performance in L.A. are available as a free download. It’s just a little something I’d like to share with you if you’re so inclined. Simply sign in on the Home or Contact page.
Finally, I’m honored to be nominated once again as the jazz artist of the year in Veer magazine’s “Best Of” edition. If you’d like, please vote here. It is very exciting for me to be sharing the ballot with some of my teachers and friends: Jimmy Masters, Jae Sinnett, and Russell Scarborough. I hope you had a wonderful 2013, and I can’t wait to see you real soon. Thank you so very much for your love and support.