When I first met my hero Art Farmer, he was spending half his year at home in Vienna and the other half on tour.

Occasionally concert promoters would pony up for his New York band, but most of the…

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Art Farmer talked about Clifford Brown often.  

The two were contemporaries, nearly the same age (born just two years apart), and had played in Lionel Hampton’s band together.  

But Art spoke of Clifford Brown with a quiet…

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The year of Scout! Train puppy to be a good home dog and road dog. 
Coordinate distribution of Jazz Noir to radio and reviewers. 
Prepare fresh DMG sets. Focus touring mostly in the northwest region. 
Fewer gigs, higher fees, larger…

This week, Sassy and I have enjoyed the hospitality of some friends who've generously provided lodging for us in their home while I play a few gigs in the area. 

 

Their son (let's call him Freddie) is a…

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"Sometimes you have to play a long time
to be able to play like yourself." 
—Miles Davis  

"A mentor is someone who sees something in you that you don't see in yourself...a beacon to guide you on your path. If you're ready, a mentor is someone whose hindsight can become your foresight."

—Dr. Billy Taylor

"This is not 'Nam. This is bowling. 

There are rules." 

—Walter Sobchak

 

"If I'd observed all the rules, 

I'd never have got anywhere."

—Marilyn Monroe 

 

"I'm going to show these people 

…

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Half a century later,
still a one-man bomb disposal unit.

"Almost all absurdity of conduct arises from the
imitation of those who we cannot resemble."
—Samuel Johnson

"Be yourself.
Everyone else is already taken."
—Oscar Wilde

"If I could play like Wynton,
I wouldn't play… Read more

"If I want to walk out in the desert and heat up a can of beans on a fire, I still can. In those movies like Gattaca or whatever, the space age stuff is always all there is. But in… Read more

“We say to 'shine one corner of the world.' That is enough.
Not the whole world. Just make it clear where you are.”
—Shunryu Suzuki

“When we are young we are often puzzled by the fact that each person we admire seems to have a different version of what life ought to be, what a good man is, how to live, and so on. If…Read more

"Enjoyment is not such a constant in music as some people think. It's not that I actually enjoy what I do every night, or every set, or every song. I enjoy the quest — but the attainment is a very…Read more

The Chosen is called upon by destiny to improve the state of humanity and the world. He is descended of and selected by those chosen before, known as The Elders. The Chosen does not choose his calling; the calling chooses…Read more

"Be grateful for luck. Pay the thunder no mind.
Listen to the birds. And don't hate nobody."
—Eubie Blake

"Best thing is to stay cool, be choosy and
wait for the right opportunity."
—Chet Baker

"Break… Read more

"Silence is so accurate."
—Mark Rothko

"You should shut your mouth, listen,
and show a little respect."
—The Batman

"Chut up!"
—Cherita Chen

"Be sincere; be brief; be seated."
—Franklin D. Roosevelt

"If they practice sincerely
they will attain enlightenment."
—Dogen Zenji

"You can play a shoestring
if you're sincere."
—John Coltrane

"Do not be tense, just be ready, not thinking but not dreaming,
not being set but being flexible. It is being wholly and quietly alive,
aware and alert, ready for whatever may come."

"Adapt what is useful, reject… Read more

"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise.
Seek what they sought."
~Basho

"A design, ostensibly original, pays homage to a classic.
But is it intentional?"
~Coco Chanel