Excerpted from the larger work that will appear in the New Face of Jazz

….I still need to practice a lot and often to be able to even start to do what I need and want on any and every gig. When you really practice singing and playing a tune, you get a deep sense of the harmony, rhythm and how they interlock to create the soul of the song. Plus, I know what my hero’s in music sound like and I want to reach that level of creativity and execution in my playing. The sky isn’t even the limit, I have to keep climbing, make sure I’m always ascending. Sometimes I imagine I’m as fearless and established as one of my favorite composers like Stevie Wonder, Wayne Shorter and Shostakovich when I feel insecure about a passage in my music. They write so organically, I pretend I’m them so I have the confidence to leave the composition the way it wants to be and stay honest about what I’m hearing. At the same time, I want others to have the same feeling I get when I hear someone that moves me to my core when they’re listening to my music. I hope to give that tingle, that “unh!” That sigh. An inhale when you can’t even stand how much you’re feeling. But that’s something I can’t really control. I just try and make the best music I can and hope that over the years I’ll reach that level of delivery where I can move people every night.