Ten Reasons to GO TO RIO !

10.) A GREAT EVENING of entertainment! 

9.) You get to spend an evening with fellow music lovers, family and friends.

8.) The opportunity to snag a few great auction items, if you're tenacious and bold! 

7.) The money we raise helps us offer more Creative Arts Camp, Youth Honor Band, and Jazz Intensive scholarships.

6.)  You help ensure that Roots of Jazz (a free program for ABQ Schools) continues. 

5.) Your ticket purchase helps to support our quality programming.

4.) You help NMJW introduce jazz to the next generation.

3.) Buy a ticket and support the arts right here in your community.

2.) Your purchase of a ticket, a table or auction help keep jazz alive.

THE TOP REASON TO GO TO RIO:

1.) Our programs serve 5,000 kids a year, ages 6-18. Of those students, 90% of them receive our jazz programs for FREE. Come to Club Rio and support our efforts to keep the music playing!

South Valley Band Project kids ROCK! 

Mr. Hargrove. That's the GRROOVE!

Happy birthday, Mr. Hargrove. Born on this day in 1969, Hargrove is a jazz trumpeter and two-time Grammy winner, and has played Hargrove has played primarily with jazz musicians with stellar careers, from Wynton Marsalis to Herbie Hancock. How about adding a few Ooos to that (Har)Grooove, sir, because you're truly talented and so very smoothe. We dig it. 

NMJW Class begins NEXT WEEK

You know Micky. Maybe you've seen him at Grandma's Music. Yeah, he owns the joint. But you know, the thing about Micky-- he's a great bass player, and he's teaching a series of classes at NMJW. On October 22, we offer Micky's six-week course which covers the basics of improvising – harmony, melody, rhythm, theory and form. The emphasis is on getting you to develop your own voice as a soloist!

Check out Micky's solo @ :50!



You will get valuable experience playing with a rhythm section. Appropriate for beginners or anyone who wants to strengthen their fundamentals. And, there's a recital at the end of the class so you can practice your new skills! Then in March, 2013 take Micky's Improv II class and build on what you've learned. Get in there folks! Sign-up for Micky's October class and get to work! 

See you in class!

For more information about NMJW Adult Ed classes, CLICK HERE!

My Blue Heaven

Another birthday shout-out goes to Herman “Ivory” Chittison, born today in Flemingsburg, Kentucky, 1908. He began his career in Zack Whyte’s band in 1928, and in those early days also worked with Ethel Waters, Adelaide Hall and Clarence Williams. Here his with his trio. (Nothing like the scratch and pop of an old record!) Thanks, Ivory! See ya down the road ...

(Photo Herman Chittison, 1946. Photo by William P. Gottlieb) 

It seems appropriate to mention that daredevil Felix Baumgartner jumped from the edge of space into {Our} Blue Heaven, yesterday and landed safely in Roswell, New Mexico. This tune goes out to you, too! 

Felix Baumgartner-- the BIG JUMP!

Oh, Ms. Spivey!

Happy birthday to American blues singer and songwriter Victoria Spivey, born on this day in 1906 in Houston, TX. 

Ms. Spivey’s career spanned forty years—even the Great Depression couldn’t  stop her! Ms. Spivey worked with Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Clarence Williams, Luis Russell, Lonnie Johnson, and Bob Dylan. She launched Spivey Records in 1961with jazz historian Len Kunstadt, made and played the blues, right up to her death in 1976.

Give a listen to You’re My Man/ Slick Chick Blues from, The Blues is Life album. Great praise, Ms. Spivey! Great praise!    

Monk's Mood

From the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz:

Thelonious Sphere Monk (1917-1982) is recognized as one of the most influential figures in the history of jazz. He was one of the architects of bebop and his impact as a composer and pianist has had a profound influence on every genre of music.

Monk was born on October 10, 1917 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, but his parents, Barbara Batts and Thelonious Monk, soon moved the family to New York City. Monk began piano lessons as a young child and by the age of 13 he had won the weekly amateur contest at the Apollo Theater so many times that he was barred from entering. At the age of 19, Monk joined the house band at Minton's Playhouse in Harlem, where along with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and a handful of other players, he developed the style of jazz that came to be known as bebop. Monk's compositions, among them "Round Midnight," were the canvasses upon which these legendary soloists expressed their musical ideas.

Happy birthday, sir. You influence continues to resonate though us all.

Welcome to Club Rio!

New Mexico Jazz Workshop presents

CLUB RIO: An Evening in the Spirit of Carnival

Saturday, November 10th @ 7pm – 11pm

SandiaResort and Casino

Silent Auction, Mask-making, Dancing, Card Reading, Brazilian Cuisine,

Music by PANdemonium, the Odara Dance Ensemble,  Costume Contest,

Chocolate Tasting with Choco Canyon Artisan Chocolate and more!

  

Albuquerque—New Mexico Jazz Workshop is pleased to present an evening in the spirit and excitement of Rio de Janeiro during Carnival. Welcome to Club Rio: An Evening in the Spirit of Carnival, a gala benefitting the New Mexico Jazz Workshop’s youth education programs.  CLUB RIO: An Evening in the Spirit of Carnival, Saturday, November 10th @ 7pm – 11pm, Sandia Resort and Casino. Tickets are $75 per guest. 10-top tables and sponsorship tables may be purchased at a reduced rate. Visit our website www.nmjazz.org for more information. Tickets are also available online at www.eventbrite.com or by calling NMJW at 505-255-9798.

Not quite ready for Winter? Neither is New Mexico Jazz Workshop! You won’t want to miss a night charged with the same energy and spice of NMJW’s Salsa Under the Stars as the music, food and dance transports you to the balmy climes of Rio de Janeiro. Get ready for a journey to Rio at the most festive time of the year- -Carnival.

Adopted from the pagan festival of Saturnalia by the Roman Catholic faith, the word carnival comes from carmelevare meaning to literally, “remove” or “raise” meat as a form of abstaining, from selected earthly pleasures in observation of Lent. Every year since 1753, forty-six days before Easter, observers of Lent have prepared for lavish celebrations, and none greater than Carnival in Brazil.

“Last year we journeyed to Havana,” said Maud Beenhouwer, Executive Director of New Mexico Jazz Workshop. “You can expect even bigger thrills at Club Rio. We’ll have everything Carnival has to offer except the floats!”

Beenhouwer added that Club Rio will feature some of the most celebrated aspects of a trip to Carnival. “Frank Leto and his band, PANdemonium will play authentic Brazilian music all evening long.” Said Beenhouwer. To complement the traditional sambas, the Odara Dance Ensemble, in full sparkling regalia, will perform choreographed dance numbers, and encourage the audience to join in the fun. A silent auction, Craft-a-mask table, colorful beads a-la Mardis Gras, and a Chocolate tasting provided by Choco Canyon Artisan Chocolate are all part of the fun at Club Rio.

Fun is definitely the main purpose of the night, but its aim is two-fold. “We’re not only presenting authentic music and dance at Club Rio, we are also featuring the young musicians of our Youth Honor Band Program,” Beenhouwer said. “This event helps raise much-needed funds for all of our education programs.” Beenhouwer added that money raised from the Club Rio silent auction goes directly to the NMJW’s South Valley Band Project, and Empowerment Through Music, a program that helps incarcerated youth discover their potential through electronic music.

“We’re very proud of our community programming,” Beenhouwer said. “We’d like to see them continue for many years to come, and our annual gala event helps make this possible.”

For information about Club Rio, including the dinner menu, please visit nmjazz.org. CLUB RIO: An Evening in the Spirit of Carnival, Saturday, November 10th @ 7pm – 11pm, Sandia Resort and Casino. Tickets are $75 per guest. 10-top tables and sponsorship tables may be purchased at a reduced rate. Visit our website www.nmjazz.org for more information. Tickets are also available online at www.eventbrite.com or by calling NMJW at 505-255-9798.

Jazz Camp is right around the corner!

Summer's nearly here! There are so many ways for our kids to spend the Summer

of 2011. We hope you'll consider signing your kids up for Jazz Camp. It's jazz, and a

whole lot more!

(((NEW MEXICO JAZZ WORKSHOP)))
((((((((((JAZZ CAMP 2011))))))))))
Three Sessions: JUNE 13 -- JULY 22

Location: Alice King Community School
1905 Mountain Road North West
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87104
(Next to Explora and the New Mexico History Museum)

Join us for the 17th year of the New Mexico Jazz Workshop's
popular music-based day camp for children ages 6-12.
Each session is 2 weeks in length and includes instrument, voice,
dance and art instruction all wrapped up in fun!

No previous musical experience necessary!

Classes include:
African drumming
Caribbean Jam
Marimba
Mask Making
Blues Band
Studio Art
Capoeira
Drums, Drums, and More Drums!
Hip Hop Dance
African Dance

Camp sessions, dates and themes include:
Session A: Jazz Roots - June 13 thru 24
Session B: Jazz, An American Original- June 27 thru July 8 (except July 4)
Session C: Jazz Around the World- July 11 thru 22
Discounts for siblings.

For costs and additional information, please visit www.nmjazz.org
For more information please call Debbie @ 505-255-9798

Experimental, electric, ALIVE, Jazz, Deconstructed Volume 2

Nu Jazz, Japanese Jazz, Punk Jazz. . . there are as many styles of jazz as there are rivers on earth; each rivulet, creek and brook leads back to the original aquifer that never seems to run dry. Jazz, Deconstructed Volume 2, celebrates the diverse world of experimental jazz from four very different perspectives and tributaries.

Volume 2 of the series explores everything from ancient sounds on analog instruments to electronic playback and streaming audio/visuals. Using atonality, dissonance, improvisation and traditional song structure, the artists in the series add a verse to the new vanguard of the movement, changing the way we experience jazz.

Here's the line-up:

April 6: Mark Weaver's UFO Ensemble

April 13: Sama Duo

April 20: John Rangel and the Improv Comp

April 27: The Things That Are Heard

Bring your cash money-- Tractor Brewery will be serving up the beer and wine and the Kosmos Cafe will be open for all of you coffee and tea drinkers. Hurray!

Deconstructed: Wednesdays, April 6-27, 7pm at The Kosmos, 1715 5^th Street, downtown Albuquerque. Tickets are $10 general, $8 students, seniors and NMJW members. Tickets are available online at www.eventbrite.com.

Give the Gift of Jazz!

It's the second week of December already.

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? We're not

quite ready to settle in for Winter just yet! One more concert for the year, Adult Education classes are shaping up, and we're gearing up for a a busy 2011!

12/12 Middle School and High School Youth Honor Bands RECITAL: Sunday, December 12th 1PM -3PM at the Cooperage, 7220 Lomas NE. Don't miss an afternoon of music with the future of jazz in New Mexico (and beyond!) Middle-High and High School Honor Band kids go on to great things. Get in on the ground floor of their assent to amazing heights!

Mid-High School Honor Jazz Band

Under the Direction of Sam Nesbitt

High School Honor Jazz Band

Under the Direction of Christian Pincock

*********************************

ONE-STOP SHOPPING @ NEW MEXICO JAZZ WORKSHOP

Give the Gift of JAZZ!

Consider an alternative to the hustle and bustle of holiday gift shopping by purchasing a gift card from New Mexico Jazz Workshop. Give the gift of Jazz -- buy NMJW Jazz Bucks.

A gift card of $50, $100, $150 or $200 is a wonderful way to offer the artist in your life the opportunity to take a class, attend a concert, present dollars towards a Jazz Camp session, or even join NMJW as a Member! Call us for more information: 505-255-9798.

We'll see you in the New Year! Can't wait.

NMJW

New Mexico Jazz Stories, VOLUME 2!

It's time for volume 2 of New Mexico Jazz Stories, an intimate evening with the artist! We're very excited by the line-up!

Life is an improvisation, a mixed tape, an unfinished work-- and no one knows that better than the five professional musicians NMJW has lined up for New Mexico Jazz Stories. They've played everywhere, from juke joints to concert halls, for sophisticated, international audiences, to salty bar flies in dives. The artists of New Mexico Jazz Stories Volume 2 have collected their stories throughout their colorful journeys, and they plan to share them with you, for the first time.

John Rangel kicks off the series. Rangel, a dynamic composer and pianist comes from a musical family full of opera singers. Find out how he got into jazz on October 6^th.

Next up is bassist Milo Jaramillo. Born and raised in New Mexico, Jaramillo lives and commutes from his native Isleta Pueblo to perform everything from jazz to funk, reggae to world music. Jaramillo shares his jazz stories on October 13^th.

Patty Stephens is a Diva of the highest order. Stephens captivates audiences with her golden pipes, and her tales are sure to be equally mesmerizing. Don’t miss Jazz Stories with Patty Stephens on October 20^th.

On October 27^th Jazz Stories presents trumpeter Paul Gonzales. Gonzales, a KUNM DJ and member of various salsa groups, including Son Como Son is also an Army Veteran. What was it like to have musician Arlen Asher visit your first grade class? Find out from Gonzales at Jazz Stories.

Closing out the 2010 Jazz Stories series is well-respected guitarist and bassist Lewis Winn. Winn has performed professionally for nearly 40 years, and he certainly has many, many interesting tales to tell. Volume 2 of New MexicoJazz Stories: An Intimate Evening with the Artist is sure to be a lively series you won’t want to miss.

New Mexico Jazz Stories: An Intimate Evening with the Artist, October 6^th through November 3^rd at 7pm. The Cooperage 7220 Lomas NE. Tickets are $15 General, $10 NMJW Members/Seniors/Students. Series passes available. Please call NMJW at 505-255-9798 or visit our website www.nmjazz.org for more information. Tickets are also available online at www.brownpapertickets .com.

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/124992

john rangel

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/125014

milo Jaramillo

https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/125021

patty stephens

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/125028

paul gonzales

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/125030

lewis winn

Week two of Jazz, Deconstructed at The Kosmos

Evolutionary Sounds featuring Luis Guerra and Amani Malaika kicked off our BRAND NEW, month-long series, Jazz, Deconstructed. Every Wednesday in April, we're presenting jazz, not as a set-in-stone art form, but as music that is in flux, constantly transforming, regenerating . . .

This Wednesday, April 14th, NMJW welcomes Resonance. Mark Weaver on tuba and digeridoo and Patti Littlefield on vocals present their own brand of deconstructed jazz. Expect tunes by Thelonius Monk, Kurt Weill, and several original tunes that reflect their eclectic collaboration and collective wit.

See you there!

NMJW

New Mexico Jazz Workshop

Jazz, Deconstructed w/

((((RESONANCE))))

Wednesday, April 14th @ 7pm

The Kosmos 1715 5th Street NW

Albuquerque

Tickets $10 General $8 Students/Seniors/NMJW Members

Tickets available online @ Brownpapertickets.

PS-- Wanna buy your tickets online? Just click here.

PS II- We know some of you are kicking yourselves for waiting until the final hours to get your taxes done. No problem! Just get them ready by Wednesday, drop them off at the main branch post office, and high-tail it to the Kosmos for your Resonance reward!

(photo of Evolutionary Sounds by Christina Gavino Gray)

It's gettin' kinda KOSMIC at the Jazz Workshop

Here's the deal:

We have this new FANTASTIC series coming up called, Jazz, Deconstructed. Sure, it's not happening until Spring, but you know, why wait to blog tomorrow what you could blog about today? Anyway, with Jazz, Deconstructed, we're going into the wilds of jazz through the thickets and thorny wood. "What do you mean?" You might ask.

Hmm. . .

Watch this video of the Charleston performed by the famous Al & Leon:

Great, right? Now, watch it again. Yes again. This time with Daft Punk over-dub:

That's Jazz . . . Deconstructed. Same song, same soul,beats PERSONIFIED. Jazz, Decontructed is:Amani Malaika & Luis Guerra-- April 7th, Resonance w/Patti Littlefield & Mark Weaver-- April 14th,Joy Harjo-- April 21st, Christian Pincock-- April 28thNow, you may not know that we have had to find a new place to do our series. It's a long story,drizzled in unfortunate events,but there's a happy ending,we assure you.We love the folks at q-Staff-- their Open Eye Cafettewas the perfect place for JD. If you're curious as to know why we're moving house on this series, read this.Here's the good part: we're moving the series toThe Kosmos the newest warehouse-turned-art space, located near downtown Burque.Chances are you already know where this place is-- if you take your Sunday prayers at the Church of Beethoven.

In their own words,The Kosmos has, "breathtaking acoustics, exposed brick and wooden ceiling beams, a central location near I-40 to make The Kosmos Albuquerque's most unique arts and events venue."

We agree.

See ya there!

NMJW presents new jazz series

Hello New Mexico Jazz Workshop friends!

Hard to believe the summer is coming to an end! Kids are back in school, the weather is changing. Just when you thought Monday Night Football would become the highlight of your week, we've come up with a NEW JAZZ SERIES to get you out of the house!

Life is an improvisation, a mixed tape, an unfinished work-- and no one knows that better than the five professional musicians NMJW has lined up for New Mexico Jazz Stories. They've played everywhere, from juke joints to concert halls, for sophisticated, international audiences, to salty bar flies in dives. Not only have Glenn Kostur, Larry Mitchell, Tommy Gearhart, Michael Anthony and Bobby Shew collected frequent flyer miles, they've collected stories throughout their colorful journeys, and they plan to share them with the New Mexico Jazz Stories audience for the first time.

Glenn Kostur is the first artist in the series on October 21st. Kostur is Director of Jazz Studies at the University of New Mexico. Glenn has performed with such jazz artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Eckstine, the Woody Herman Orchestra, among others. On October 28th, Larry Mitchell, the jet-setting guitar virtuoso performs. A Grammy Award-winning producer, Larry has played with the likes of Tracey Chapman, Joy Harjo, Robert Mirabal. He's a world traveling musician, clinician, and a spokesman for Ibanez Guitars. Tommy Gearhart on vox, will perform on November 4th. Gearhart is a classic crooner with a modern sensibility. You'll enjoy the stories of this Ohio native who has established deep, New Mexican roots.

Guitarist Michael Anthony is a musician's musician. On November 11th, Michael shares his trials and tribulations as studio artist for some of the biggest names in the business. Anthony has played guitar professionally since 1960, and can be heard on the albums of Tony Bennett, Nelson Riddle, The Beach Boys, Diana Ross, and many, many more. World-class trumpeter Bobby Shew brings a type of magic to the stage on November 18th. Winner of the Grammy for Jazz Album of the Year in 1983 (Heavy Company), Bobby played with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Woody Herman's band, and spent several years as a lead musician in Las Vegas. Perhaps he will tell you his Wayne Newton story. You'll have to be there to find out.

NMJW presents

New Mexico Jazz Stories

October 21th- November 18th @ 7pm

The Cooperage

7220 Lomas NE

Tickets $10 general $8 nmjw members/seniors/students

Series pass available!

NM Jazz Workshop present Cathryn McGill and Larry Mitchell

Hello again, friends! You don't want to stay home this Saturday night!

Come down to the Albuquerque Museum Amphitheatre on Saturday @ 18th

at 7pm for some jazz and blues like you haven't had it in a long time.

LARRY MITCHELL and CATHRYN MCGILL

An evening of Jazz, Fusion, Smooth Jazz and funky grooves featuring

Grammy Award-Winning Producer, Larry Mitchell!

July 18th, 2009 @ the Albuquerque Museum Amphitheater

If you've heard Tracy Chapman, Ric Ocasek, Billy Squier, or Steve Vai in concert, then you've probably heard the distinct guitar virtuosity of Larry Mitchell. He's a Grammy Award-Winning Producer, international artist, and a recent special musical guest on the Price is Right. How can you go wrong? You're in for a funky, bluesy, jammin' night Under the Stars.

Local Diva Cathryn McGill will also perform a high-energy set of Blues, Soul and Funk, Gospel-infused tunes as only Ms. McGill can. Cathryn has the soul of an artist, and her vocals have been described as "gospel-cooked" referring to her deep roots in the Baptist Church. Don't miss this

show.

You can still buy tickets online for this show! Just click on the Brown Paper Tickets icon below!

This show is presented in partnership with the 4th Annual New Mexico Jazz Festival.

Like Summer Camp. For Grown-ups!

Hello friends! Time again for another session of Adult Education classes at New Mexico Jazz Workshop.

Everybody into the pool. . .

New Mexico Jazz Workshop adult classes have long since been a staple for local jazz musicians looking to expand their knowledge of the form. NMJW classes offer adult musicians the opportunity to study with some of New Mexico's most talented, working musicians. 

The 2009 Summer Adult Education Program offers students five courses to assist in the development of their craft. Jazz Improvisation,  Modern Jazz Ensemble,  Adult Big Band,  Vocal Jazz and Vocal Real Book Jam, a new NMJW course!

2009 Summer Adult Education Program-- course series begins June 13^th and runs through August 13^th. Dates and times for classes vary. For full course descriptions, instructor bios, and course fees, please visit our website: www.nmjazz.org. 

 

Phil Arnold Interview!!!

Hello New Mexico Jazz Workshop friends! As you know, there's A LOT going on for us-- the summer concert series is coming up, we're about to start our summer music camp for kids, and the teen intensive, AND adult ed classes begin in June-- we're knee-deep in jazz!

The start of summer would not be complete without catching up with some of New Mexico's musicians--emphasis on catch- NM Jazz musicians are some of the hardest working folks around. On any given night in the Land of Enchantment you might see some of our favorite performers, playing anywhere-- from grand concert halls to mom-n-pop neighborhood pubs. No matter the venue, you can expect to be entertained, moved and jolted into experiencing LIFE, in the moment-- in all its improvised, arranged, legato and staccatoed glory!

While we relish in all this jazzy goodness, we thought we'd like to get to know more about these artists we so often see on stage, but rarely have a chance to meet . Today, we're talking with Phil Arnold, local performing artist. We came up with a few "random" questions for Phil to answer. Is there a better way to get to know someone?? Just imagine you're sitting at Winning Coffee, having a conversation with the guy. He's pretty cool. . .

Hey Phil, why is Albuquerque one of the best cities to be a jazz musician?

It's a great climate, there are venues everywhere to perform jazz, there are enough musicians maintaining high standards that clubs and restaurants even in these economic times are still paying jazz musicians a respectable minimum wage her in Albuquerque. We're a stone's throw from one of the world's greatest cities for arts and culture, Santa Fe, where there is also great jazz happening all the time!I am definitely working more here than at anytime during my 20 years in NYC! I actually have six jazz gigs this week! And, you can just about always find really top-shelf players to play with you when you book a gig, life is very good for jazz musicians here!

It's a cycle, certainly but, our that jazz elders are getting older-- with popular music beginning largely electronic-based, how do we get young people to not only play jazz in school, but grow to appreciate the form?

You know, jazz exploded in the 70's and 80's, and went so many directions, and not all the directions were necessarily something that could ever achieve the mainstream popularity of jazz in its history up throught the 1960's. In addition to being a full-time performer, I have worked with a lot of inner-city kids and if you say the word "jazz" they make a face like you're talking about the most uncool thing possible. Then of course you can show them what it really is and they can learn to play it, but there's a perception of jazz by so many people in America at least, that puts it in a negative context by being either "noisy" or "elevator music" depending on what they've heard that has been labeled "jazz" and turned them off!

I think what's important for education, along with learning and appreciating the heritage of the art form, is for those of us who present jazz to children and adults alike, is to remember that music evolves in the context of the current culture. Miles appreciated that, and (depending on who you talk to) kept a musical perspective throughout that kept it art -- great music can be great, and it can be jazz without having a swing beat. However, if someone who calls themself a jazz musician doesn't know how to swing when it's time to play some blues, then I think we've stretched the definition of jazz beyond the breaking point!

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it needs to be fun for the kids, not a responsibility to learn because it's an uniquely American art form and a treasure. It's our responsibility to teach it for that reason, but when you make it like medicine you have to take because it's good for you, that sorta takes the fun out of it!

Kids will love Mozart, they will love bebop, they will love the blues...it's all about fun, that's a big part of what music is really all about, at least for me!! And I can tell you first-hand that is universal with kids too. And you know what, we're all kids. If we present this music to them and teach it they will learn, they will enjoy it and they will lose whatever negative preconception they might have had. Who the teacher is makes a huge difference of course, but lots of good curriculum has already been written that teaches jazz and a good teacher who knows nothing about jazz can use those texts and learn themselves while they teach the kids! It's a win-win situation, we just have to keep reminding our administration that Jazz is our nation's greatest Nation Treasure, and must stay in the schools!

How do you reinvent yourself?

Sometimes events all come together in your life, those moments when the universe tells you in no uncertain terms what you need to do. It's really about sticking to your guns and believing in yourself. Cathy McGill, who is becoming a very good friend and is a musician I highly admire, released a CD recently that had taken her a bit of time to finish. During an interview at KUNM, she said her message to everyone is "don't give up on your dreams." Reinventing is getting in touch with who you really are, who you really want to be. and you can be that person right now, this instant! It really is about the voyage more than the destination, kinda makes it easier in a way.

What you do right now defines who you are and what you will become. Each of us has the ability to reinvent ourselves, and it is a constant evolution. Maybe it's more about believing in yourself. It's definitely about sticking to your guns against adversity. Clark 'terry once told me that life, and the cycles we go through as a musician, is like a wheel. You're riding on the wheel, and things are easy as you begin the downward portion of the turn, peaking at the bottom, then becoming difficuolt as you push back up. you can almost coast to the top, but sometimes that wheel is going to need a little push to make it to the top for another turn! what we don't always see is that we're on that wheel. What Clark told me is that when things get toughest, what we don't realize is that we're just a quarter-turn from the top! And

then it gets easy again. Keep pushing Don't give up.

One of my favorite links lately is this one that Bobby Shew sent me, somehow he happened to send it at a moment when I need it the most recently....it's called "Are You Strong?"

http://www.maniacworld.com/are-you-going-to-finish-strong.html

You've got a new band, we hear, called the Phunkomatics. Where did you get the name and how would you describe the sound of your band?

I kinda wanted that retro theme to 70's and 80's rock and even punk to get the flavor of the modern sound with new young musicians this band has. We like it kind of raw, not the smooth polished "CD-101" sound that threatened to exile jazz to elevators and shopping malls in the
80's and 90's. The term I have come up to describe the sound is "edge jazz." We explore textures similar to Miles Davis Bitches Brew, Weather Report, Chick Corea, Jaco Pastorius, even Brecker Brothers, but using extended harmonic textures and sounds combining acoustic and electronic jazz with just a touch of gypsy, with the driving jazz spirit of Elvin Jones, Art Blakey, and maybe Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix on top of that...it's still evolving!

Our new singer Lydia Clark sings both soft and hard, her low earthy tones tell of a thousand night in a thousand blues clubs. We play earthy blues-driven gypsy flavored retro-punk modern jazz that is just a little frightening. One of our composers is Sam Isabel, we will soon
be premiering a new composition of his that is deliberately on the verge of out-of-control, and manages to combine the essence of bebop with the frantic, edgy hungriness of a Saturday night rave, now that's scary!

We are The Phunkomatics. This is our music. Be Careful, It Is Dangerous.

Danger?? We eat danger for breakfast. . .

THANKS, PHIL!!! Happy giggin'!