I had a BLAST this weekend!  I got to play 2 shows with Paa Kow and his band in Louisville and Denver, Colorado.  The gig in Louisville was at a brewery that loves Paa Kow’s music.  They have had the band out for both of their anniversary parties to date, and wanted to book them right after the show Saturday for their 3rd birthday party!   If you get a chance to check out 12Degree Brewery in Louisville, send them some love.  Their pizza is delicous! Sunday we played the City Park Jazz Festival in Denver.  It was a wonderful experience. […]

The last couple weeks have been pretty busy!  I got a chance to sit in with and INCREDIBLE group of muscians at shows in Chicago and Boulder, Colorado.  Paa Kow Band is a great Afro-Pop Fusion band that blends modern jazz and funk sounds with the traditional song and drum of Ghana, West Africa.  The band’s leader and namesake is an amazing drum set player and composer.  The band plays songs and instrumental pieces that are all of his composition and arrangement.  I’m very excited to join the band!  I will be joining them for festival dates and in the[…]

April concludes the final month of preperation for the Virtual Steelband.  Videos of performances are due by midnight on April 30th! If you haven’t heard of Virtual Steelband, and are interested in steelpan, you should check it out.  It is a very cool project run by my friends in the Pastiche Steel Ensemble.  Mia Gormandy has been the face of the project, while all the members of Pastiche have done their part to make it all happen.  The Virtual Steelband is an international video compilation that allows hundreds of pan players to contribute to the video premier of a brand new[…]

This has been a very busy year for me so far – not in perfmance bookings, but in travel and “back-end” work to keep my musical future as busy as it has been in past years. I’m very excited to be doing a major overhaul to a set of concert chimes that belong to Yorkville School District Bands (www.YorkvilleBands.com).  It should be a fun project, and will be the first set of chimes for Schwebke Instrument Restoration & Refinishing. I have all sorts of musical projects in the works.  There are a few recording projects that are slated to happen[…]

I decided, instead of waiting to get home, I would write my final about Panorama from Trinidad.  I’m sitting at the gate at Piarco reflecting on everything that happened in the last month. This was overall a great experience.  I got to explore a new city, new country, and new culture with some good friends – and even make some new friends! I feel that the most important thing I can write about is the family that is Silver Stars Steel Orchestra.  Even if the group never wins another Panorama (who am I kidding?… they will), Edwin Pouchet’s legacy is[…]

PANORAMA SEMI FINALS!     I’ve been in Port of Spain, Trinidad, West Indies for just shy of two weeks. I have been practicing and rehearsing with Silver Stars Steel Orchestra on Liam Teague’s arrangement of “Edwin’s Legacy.” Playing in the National Panorama Competition of Trinidad and Tobago has been a goal of mine for almost 15 years. I’m honored to have been asked to play this year, and I’m honored to play on a tune like “Edwin’s Legacy” – one that so thoroughly speaks to the tradition of the steelband, of panorama, and of the steelpan community. Silver Stars is[…]

2015 is just around the corner!  2014 was a great year, and I’m finishing it up in Europe! Taylor and I are doing a brief tour of Europe before she spends some time studying in Spain.  So far, we have seen Brussel, Leuven and Bruges in Belgium, Rothenburg in Germany, and Vienna in Austria.  In Leuven we saw the university music school and spent some time there with my great friend Aaron Spevak!   He showed us around the performance venues and practice spaces for percussion.  In Vienna (where we have another day or so, before heading to Spain), we got[…]

I had the great pleasure of hanging out with all of the Northern Illinois Blouegrass Association members at their annual holiday party last week.  It was a ton of fun to hang out with some great pickers and singers.  It was a potluck dinner and chili cookoff… the food was great! I’m glad to be a supporting member of NIBA, it is a great organization that strives to keep traditional American Folk and Acoustic music alive!  Here is their mission statement:The Northern Illinois Bluegrass Associationis dedicated to promoting and preserving “America’s Heritage Music” (Bluegrass) via support of regular monthly jam sessions,[…]

Past:  Here is a review from Dulcimer Player’s News from 2012.  There is a review of the tune “After Midnight” from the Kaleidoscope album!  This edition of the print DPN Magazine included a sampler CD for the subscribers, and “After Midnight” was on it!  That means that dulcimer players and folk-music fans all over North America got to hear the tune!  Click HERE to read the review.  If you want to hear a small sample of the tune, check out my Media page! Present:  I’ve been working to expand my catalog of jazz standards and arrangements.  I will be working to have some of[…]

In the middle of meeting other musicians, checking out the jazz scene in Northern Colorado, I’ve managed to complete a few arrangments!  I have new arrangements for steelband and latin dance-band (with a twist!).  If you, or your band, are interested in any of those arrangements, feel free to contact me at any time! Other news:  Some of you already know that I am no longer with the Ethan Bell Band.  I was very glad to hook Ethan up with my great friend Jonny Gifford.  Jonny is an incredible drumset player and percussionist, if you get to check out the[…]