HAPPY 2004!!!!
2003 has been a great year so I'm a little sad to see it go. I recorded and
released the "Soul Sessions" CD which I REALLY like and am very proud of. The
2003 "An Evening of Guitars and Saxes" tour with Richard Elliot, Steve cole,
Peter White and myself was a great success. It was a lot of fun to get on the
road and meet so many of you at the shows. My sons have been shaping more and
more into little men. Matthew just turned one ond Chris three. At that age, the
passing of one year makes for some BIG changes. That's been a blast to be a
part of. Also in October Rod Stewart asked me if I'd play on some TV shows with
him to promote his latest CD "The American Songbook 2". I had a great time
hanging out with those guys again and making some music.
So 2003 has been great, but I just like the "sound" of 2004 ( I think
that I usually tend to lean more towards even numbers anyway). I just enjoy
saying it more than the words "two thousand three" and that alone would have me
optomistic about the year to come but I also have a lot of plans that I'm excited
see unfold.
First I perform on the "Smooth Jazz Cruise" from Jan 18th until the end of
the month and I just can't see a downside to that. The Carribean in January (
for a New Yorker that alone is a big deal),I get to play some music along
with some of my favorite musicians and take my family with me on what sounds like
a great vacation!
Then as soon as I get back I'm going to meet back up with Rod Stewart and
the band in Ft Lauderdale. We enjoyed getting back together for those TV shows
so much that we decided to continue it a little longer and I'm going to
perform with the band Feb, March and April for the U.S. part of their tour. (I'll be
listing those dates here soon). Don't worry, I'm not forsaking my solo career
to go back to my old job or anything, just taking a few months to hang out
with my old friends and play a bit.It should be a blast.
As soon as that finishes, starting in May, they are beginning to book dates
for the 2004 version of " An Evening of Guitars and Saxes" of which I'm going
to be a part of. Once again I'm so glad that I was asked to participate in
this tour because it sounds like such a great line up with Warren Hill, Marc
Antione and Euge Groove.
This will be my first time working with Euge but I love the way he plays and
he seems like a great guy so I look forward to that experience. Also it will
be a lot of fun to get back on the road with my friends Warren and Marc.
So all in all it looks a 2004 is shaping into what could be very busy, but
rewarding and fun year.
Happy New Year to everyone!
P.S.
I also want to apologize to anyone who may have been inconvenieced when I had
to bow out of my upcoming show that was scheduled for the Berks Jazz Festival
on March 18th. I really hate cancelling a show. We tried very hard to juggle
things and make it happen but it just wasn't in the cards. I rarely do this so
please accept my humble apologies.
