A Musical Journey

Following the amicable dissolution of my last partnership several years ago, I pondered my next professional musical identity for quite a while. Though there was little doubt I'd re-invent myself - again -  I also suspected my next incarnation would not involve other musicians. Jam sessions - OK; rehearsing with others - not.

Though I didn't know at the time, a goal publicly announced here near my 62nd birthday in November 2011 - to fully memorize three hundred jazz compositions and standards - was an important step in my musical life. As my repertoire and comfort with the songs grew, so did my confidence. In retrospect, that goal was both audacious and sensible; perhaps my greatest strength as a musician is my memory. Though I haven't yet reached it, the continuing attention given to the goal also inspired me to look for suitable performing venues.

Playing solo jazz guitar in art galleries now occupies the musical space that playing and singing acoustic music in bars did when I met my wife in 1978. There's a nice symmetry to a few of my musical lives: My wife helped me secure my first recurring art gallery gig not long after we moved to our current home and she was also the first audience (of one) I ever had performing my first solo jazz guitar arrangement in the early 1980's soon after my livelihood as a singer ended. I still recall her face as I unleashed my halting version of "Happy Birthday" on her unsuspecting - but always supportive - ears. I'm grateful she's been by my side for a significant chunk of my musical journey.