
Testifyin’
I recently observed that, in your youth, you know you have a dear friend if they help you move. At my age, if they show

I recently observed that, in your youth, you know you have a dear friend if they help you move. At my age, if they show

Last night was my first gig back after foot surgery—and it was, thankfully, a fairly easy one. I delegated the herding duties to another musician

“I don’t like how swollen that leg is. I need you to go right now and get a sonogram to rule out a blood clot.”

My friend who works at Royce Hall asked me if I wanted two free tickets to a show called Taylor Mac’s Holiday Sauce. The name

When I was in Cornwall, visiting what I like to call my cousins once removed by friendship (my best friend’s cousins), I missed my plane

If you should ever need to inflict torture on someone, put the waterboard back in your closet. Instead, force them to make cold calls. Phoning

I actually toyed with going to the evening service for Rosh Hashanah this year. Maybe a little prayer for the New Year would help? Not

Our Lady Jerry Wexler dubbed her “Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrows”: the depth of her sound and ability to connect us to something primal owes

The best way to keep a grip on some of my remaining sanity is to just throw everything out. My apartment is a Barbie apartment.

My mother tried. I got piano lessons as a child. I just didn’t “get it.” The woman she hired was a crummy bored piano teacher

A friend encouraged me to come perform in NYC. She would help produce it. She works in both the Broadway and television world. Between us

Getting in the door is the hardest part. I have the kind of cold that has a rodent living in my lungs and he is

My brain delights in unraveling when it should be sleeping. Rarely are these sessions productive. Occasionally, the brain spin cycle leads to an epiphany. No

To say the Road of Life is bumpy might be the understatement of the year. For me personally, the last two years have been like

It’s the most wonderful time of the year With the kids jingle belling And everyone telling you be of good cheer It’s the most wonderful

In the theatre or on the bandstand, you sometimes need to get the audience to come along on a ride with you. I have always

He was a neighbor of mine who embodied everything positive that noun could hold, and then some. Once when I was out of town he

The Scope of Jazz I have a very tiny, very beautiful pony hair purse. Too small to be of any use, it hangs on a

Titles are difficult. For years, I floated through life undercutting any achievements while expertly conducting the negative cacophony that played in my head. Women are

Pat Yankee led her own big band, tap-danced on stage with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, was Maurice Chevalier’s first choice for an opening act on Broadway,

Have you ever been in a situation that was so tragically comedic the thought that dances through your mind is: “Where did they put the

It’s been a challenging year. Look I’m not going to bore you with the details of that. It’s bad copy and no one likes a

The trip to New Orleans shouldn’t have happened. I had no business traveling anywhere. My checking account is on life support. I was sitting on

They were sold out of Ahi tuna at Costco. I didn’t realize that just like deep-sea fishing you have to start out very early or