East Coast Tour Kick-Off for Kids Program

That's right, it's time to hit the road again!  But, this isn't my usual 2 and a half week tour...try more like a month. And, with every appearance being a high energy kids program, don't be surprised if I return home another 10 or 15 pounds lighter!

Which kids program?  Well, here's the story.

Back in 2002, when I first started to do my program called "What's All That Jazz About?", or WATJA for short, I never imagined that it would become so popular, that I would find myself traveling the country to give it and that I would end up expanding it into both an adult program and a kids program.

Last year, I celebrated the 10th anniversary of the program by expanding it into the west coast of the United States.  This year, I find myself actually filling orders...for the kids version!  

The kids version of WATJA has exploded in popularity and now I'm getting calls from all over the country to  give the program.  Even with turning down offers, I still have enough bookings to warrant me taking to the road for three separate tours for 2013, which brings me to the announcement for the kick-off of my "What's All That Jazz About...for Kids, 2013 Tour".

The "WATJA...for Kids, 2013 Tour" marks the first time that I will be touring exclusively with the kids version of the program.  Usually there is a mix of requests for both the adult and kids version.  The tour opens on February 1, in Maywood, New Jersey and ends on February 23, in St. Louis, Missouri, with multiple stops taking place in Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana along the way.  

Because of the high energy nature of the program and the amount of driving that I will have to do for the tour,  I will be taking 5 days to travel home instead of the 2 and a half that it would normally take, so that I can get some rest and avoid getting too tired behind the wheel.

I'm excited that my programming has become so popular!  Hopefully, some of the educational programs that I'm currently designing may find similar success.

E.O.S.

More and more, it seems that people are looking for solutions on the internet that will allow them to do more of what they want or need to do, from one place, rather than from multiple.  

It's perfectly logical, really.

As our lives are becoming more complicated, and there are more things for us all to have to divert our attention to, it only makes sense that we would try and find efficiency, simplicity, and maybe even a more fun way of doing things.

Hmmm.

Efficiency...

Simplicity...

Fun...

Well, as it turns out, there's a little something that I've been working on that will bring efficiency, simplicity and fun to doing something that previously required visiting multiple sites and doing a bunch of Google searches.

It's something I'm excited about.

It's something that will change how certain things are done.

It's something some really smart folks and I developed that has the initials "E", "O", "S".

What is "EOS"?

Hold that thought!

Jazz on the Vine, 2013

It looks like I will be taking part in the Long Island Winterfest's Jazz on the Vine, which is something I'm really excited about!  My quartet is slated to perform at Raphael Vineyards on Saturday, March 2, 2013 at 4:30pm until 6:30pm.

Jazz on the Vine has grown into a major event on Long Island.  Musicians come from all over the New York, metropolitan area and so do the patrons of the event.  In fact, I have fans that have traveled as far as upstate Connecticut and eastern Pennsylvania to attend Long Island Winterfest and catch me performing in it.  

So, what is Jazz on the Vine?

Well, from February 9 to March 17 you can visit the East End of Long Island to enjoy 6 great weekends of truly exceptional jazz performances in winery tasting rooms. Admission includes a glass of wine and a chance to win a FREE hotel night on the East End with a gift basket of Long Island wines.  Numerous special offers and promotions at tourism-related businesses and cultural venues throughout the region are available, extending your experience to restaurants and award-winning accommodations.

The official website for Long Island Winterfest's Jazz on the Vine is www.liwinterfest.com.  Hope to see you there!

Me and the John Coltrane Home

A few years ago, I was introduced to a gentleman named Steve Fulgoni by my long time saxophone tech Craig Lindsay.  In case you missed out on some of the past media surrounding Steve's name, he is the guy who basically saved the John Coltrane home, located in Dix Hills, New York, from being razed.

It's actually scary to me that the final residence of unquestionably one of the greatest jazz icons of the twentieth century would even be under consideration for demolition.  But, such was the case.

In any event, it was Steve's hope at the time to obtain a historic landmark status for the house and property, and then turn it into a museum (much like what was done to the Louis Armstrong House in Queens, New York) and make it the epicenter for educational jazz programming in the region.  Fulgoni had heard of my jazz programming and wanted to see if I could design something that could be used for the Coltrane Home Foundation to center their educational efforts on.

Though I came up with a draft or two, I was unable to continue my participation at the time, because my performance schedule suddenly became more dense then it had been in years.  Since that time, a board was formed and now efforts have been increased towards adding educational programming to both the Coltrane Home and to regional venues.  

In August of 2012, I was greeted after an appearance that I was doing for my program "What's All That Jazz About?" by Steve Fulgoni, whom I hadn't communicated with in two or three years at that point, and a gentleman who introduced himself as Ron Stein.  Long story short, they were looking to recruit me once again to design a program, or a series of programs, around the Coltrane Home Foundation.  This time, my schedule wasn't as much of a factor.  Not to mention, I had been searching for other projects to be a part of, as developing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in both of my hands had left my performance career in question.

As of right now, we are in the middle of refining a couple of programming ideas that I had submitted for consideration.  Whether or not I am capable of actually performing on the saxophone anymore (I have actually been seriously considering retiring from performing, effective October, 2013), I plan to continue my involvement with the Coltrane Home. 

After all, it isn't everyday that you're asked to  help develop a centerpiece program for a foundation with a mandate to preserve the home of a major icon of American cultural history!