Haven't had much to say here lately about the status of the Blossom Dearie project with Sharon Sable, so it's time for an update, as things are gearing up. We have now, finally, put the physical CD in for manufacturing, which, when completed, will allow us to begin our 3 month promotional campaign, leading up to the official release this Spring. We were all set to release the album last fall, even to the point of securing the venue for a release concert. Then (and yes, at the absolute last minute), we finally succumbed to engaging a publicist. This is something neither of us have done before (with many self-releases between us), and was no small decision. The bottom line, for both of us, is our sense that this project is an important marker; individually, on our separate paths, and as a statement of our shared path. We are proud of it, and are looking forward to the major publication reviews and national radio play that the promotional campaign will generate. This project deserves that. We are excited for you all to hear it.  Soon  :)

This Spring also begins the season for concerts in support of the project. 2 are already scheduled; in West Chester, PA in March and Mt.Vernon OH in April, with more to come. Details on these shows will soon be available on our schedule web pages. Stay tuned  :)

In some ways, this is like a new adventure into the unknown. In other ways, it's like a trip that has been well thought through and prepared for. Kind of like we don't know quite where we are going, though we have some sense of what clothes to pack. Or some analogy like that. Wherever the adventure will take us, we are grateful, and looking forward to it    :)   

    

What does it mean when "the moment comes"? If the operative word is "the", the answer may be rather evident, until it is elusive. If "moment", then something else altogether, and a place we can live, or at least purpose to. The elusive moment is the particular one we (decide we) are looking for. Or worse, trying to recreate. The moment in which we can live is the one that we embrace, (perhaps paradoxically) by releasing to it's entering. We do not find moments. Moments are there to be found, not because we are looking, but because we leave the doors and windows open, along with leaving our minds/thoughts in another part of the house. And although we might wish or desire for something particular to enter, we embrace that which does. When I worked at the Showboat in Atlantic City, for example, I would be working there, until I wouldn't be. What got me there was certainly not worrying about getting there, or in my case, even thinking about it at all. Being who I am got me there. But that didn't stop me, once there, from trying to preserve the moment, or the circumstance, by continually drawing my attention (or, distracting myself) toward what I needed to do to get that next contract extension. In other words, concern over being able to keep the gig was the mental focus that sometimes kept the deeper artistic moments more out of reach. And ultimately, didn't keep me there any longer than simply continuing to do what got me there in the first place; being myself. And it strikes me that I am particularly blessed in that being myself has pretty much become my life's purpose. Or, how I purposely life my life, which allows my life to create it's larger purpose. The words of one reviewer, some years ago, of a solo piano concert, seem to ring true today to those encounter it, which validates them within me: "(Joe) has found the elusive balance sought by all jazz musicians: the balance between the craft of performing music that is recognizable as being in the traditions of jazz, and the artistry of creating a very personal expression within those same traditions. He is the genuine article, an artiste, whose work is a reflection and an extension of who he is".

I am who I am, uniquely so. When I embrace this, fully, I am free to be my unique, live-in-the -moment self. When I forget this, I can immediately become intimidated inside the awareness of all the things I am not. It's when you can fully let go that you can fully embrace what you actually have, or better, who you are   :)