What am I? Guitarist, singer, songwriter, composer, teacher, body therapist also.... A good entertaining performer at this point, I hope, one who's doing something personal-- at once, I hope, funny and serious. I'm first, and I think most deeply, a jazz improviser. I got turned on to music by the Beatles when I was six, and then had my life revolutionized at the age of 16 by Charlie Parker and Lennie Tristano. The things they did got to my soul so fast, there was never any question: I didn't understand a thing, but I wanted to do what they were doing! I had good help in my hometown, Pittsburgh PA, from among others, guitarist Joe Negri, pianist Carl Arter, and drummer Bumpty Washington, and I played with Kenny Clarke, Joe Harris, Billy Eckstine, Tal Farlow, Bucky Pizzarelli, Ned Goold, David Budway, John McCutcheon, Marshall Mc Donald and a host of others. But it wasn't until I moved to New York in 1985 (I was 27) that I had the next real revolution in my life. It was then that I had the good luck to hear about the wonderful pianist and teacher Connie Crothers, who is one of the greatest creative musicians alive right now, and who, as a teacher has the most marvelous ability to be totally focused on, and, it seems, totally empathetic with, whoever comes to her. Connie taught me so much. Especially she helped me to understand the nature of improvising as spontaneous expression, and the nature of spontaneity, and of feeling. She taught me, I guess I can say, to BE, and that from simply being, and being myself, my music would flow, and could develop into something unique and new. (Naturally, this little description doesn't tell you enough. But it's the greatest lesson I ever learned, and if you really want to know more you could drop me a line.) I lived in New York from 1985 to 1997, and have lived in Stockholm, Sweden since 1994. (Those three overlap years were exciting but stressful.) In the New York days I was completely immersed in jazz improvising, playing a lot with Connie and others, including pianist/singers Liz Gorrill (now Kazzrie Jaxen) and Carol Liebowitz; saxophonists Richard Tabnik, Charley Krachy, Gary Levy, and once in a while Jimmy Halperin and even (big idol) Lenny Popkin; drummers Roger Mancuso, Carol Tristano and John McCutcheon; pianists Charles Sibirsky, Michael Kanan and Virg Dzurinko; singers Bob Casanova, Dori Levine, Linda Satin and Harry Schulz. And so many others. You don't want to forget anybody, but how much of this can anyone read? I made a gang of records on the great improvisers' label New Artists Records (www.newartistsrecords.com), which I have always felt put some very important music into the world. For anyone who likes the kind of thing Lennie Tristano developed in his day, and which Warne Marsh, Lee Konitz, Sal Mosca and others contributed to, it can be a source of tremendous fascination to hear the things that have developed from that concept in the 80s, 90s, and now in the new millenium. After the move to Sweden, things gradually changed. I still improvise every moment of my life, and the joy of spontaneous expression still informs all my music-- I run a jam session for improvisers once a month in a great room in Stockholm called Café Aguéli with the brilliant bass virtuoso Ulf Åkerhielm-- but I have been more and more absorbed in the last bunch of years with the art of songwriting, and it is at this point my favorite thing in life (well, after the kisses and hugs anyway...) to sit alone with my guitar and sing and play my own songs. I've got a fabulous wife, Boel Dirke, pianist and organist and a superb and inspiring musician she is, and my son Niklas, 11, and my daughter Alice, 9, both of them wonderful, bright, loving and creative people. I hope to live a long time. Life's pretty fun most days.
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