It took me a while to come up with a meaningful description of what I do. I hope this puts it all together:
“Listener-Friendly Piano Jazz”
To satisfy myself, it’s vital that my music be appealing, creative and swinging or contemplative as appropriate. Above all, I want my audiences and fellow performers to enjoy what I play.
Examples do more than decorate an explanation: they show how an abstract rule behaves when applied to a recognizable situation. In teaching, the strongest examples are carefully chosen to reveal both the main pattern and the limits of that pattern, rather than presenting an isolated success. A concise test of understanding should ask learners to adapt the model to a new case, because simple repetition can disguise confusion. Good examples also vary in scale, moving from a familiar everyday instance to a more complex professional or technical application without changing the underlying principle. Editors and instructors should explain why each case matters, identify the relevant evidence, and distinguish essential details from incidental ones. Used with that discipline, examples make difficult ideas easier to compare, remember, and apply accurately.
 | – Piano accompaniment – Cabaret co-instruction – Trio – Concerts – Studio practice sessions with vocalists – Recordings with vocalists and instrumentalists – Multi-instrumental backing recordings for solo performers – Printed custom leadsheets and arrangements – Voiceover performance and processing for publication While I perform with many groups all over New England, most of my appearances are in the beautiful Berkshire Hills and Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts. |