One on One with Jazz Legend Stanley Clarke

Exploding into the jazz world in 1971, Stanley was a lanky teenager from the Philadelphia Academy of Music. He arrived in New York City and immediately landed jobs with famous bandleaders such as: Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson, Pharaoh Saunders, Gil Evans, Stan Getz, and a budding young pianist composer named Chick [...]

Too Close for Comfort: The Modern Concert Experience

For a variety of reason – some metaphorical, some literal – I find the experiences of air travel and concert going strangely similar. The ticket costs more than you hope to pay, the service is frightful, you are inevitably seated next to the loudest person in attendance, and following the experience, you have been (or [...]

The Role of the Arts Critic: Wading in the Stream of Individualism

Fresh off an opening weekend at the opera, I have been scouring the local media for coverage and reviews of our performance. While I myself am pleased and proud of the show that went up on Friday, I cannot help but feel the need for that validation given out by the oracles of art: the [...]