When I was ten years old, my family moved from the East Coast to Colorado. Part of what helped me adjust was starting piano lessons. It felt like a never-ending musical puzzle to me. Each new piece I learned about became a mystery that needed to be solved. Grieg's Notturno, Chopin's Fantasie-Impromptu, Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto - they all fueled my progress.
Playing classical works never felt like enough, though. I never felt like I was able to fully express what I needed to, and I started dabbling in composition and jazz while in high school and college. After graduating from college, I took the Responsible Career path, paying off debts and only taking occasional detours into a cappella groups, midi composition, and film scoring. But after landing in Portland, Oregon, life eventually got stable enough that I was able to finally acquire a piano of my own.
Since early 2006, piano has again made itself known in my life, and it's been all about jazz. I feel I have a lot of time to make up for, but I'm learning quickly. Jazz informs everything - I find my creativity increasing, my technique improving, and my songwriting more interesting. Even my singing is insisting on its place at the table.
This site is a journal of my efforts to become a working musician - who I network with, what I find, trials, tribulations, learning experiences, failures, successes. I'm currently writing songs for what will be either an EP or my first full-length cd, and I'm occasionally playing open mics and gigs in the Pacific Northwest. Please consider joining my mailing list to keep up on things!
