Cecil Taylor, the man in the driver’s seat of modernity for decades, who is 89, I heard is ill today. First heard him at music school. Hard to believe there […]

5 billion light years from Earth. The latest star, farthest ever seen, is apparently that far away. Yesterday showing niece how to play that horrible 1-6-4-5- song on the piano. […]

One of the earliest books I obtained that deeply “worked” was the Tao te Ching by Lao Tzu. There are other titles for it and other names for the author, […]

After the piano lesson, we passed an old organ and my student said “wow an organ, how does it work?” I plugged it in and told her to go ahead […]

Why can’t I take lessons with you? I didn’t say you couldn’t take lessons, I said I couldn’t teach you. Why can’t you teach me? Because you don’t practice. I’m […]

There was a music building at the University of Manitoba and sometimes I had my own winter olympics there, arriving at night and not slipping on icy stairs. Being Winnipeg, one […]

Student canceled lesson, disappointed in their progress. Some get defeated about practicing or rather, defeated about not practicing. It is as if there is a tricky part of the mind […]

There is a certain gesture I like using currently as a starting point in improvisations, like the way certain people have a usual chess opening. It positions me to consider […]

A group of Jazz musicians from Philadelphia and New York came through Winnipeg in the mid 70s. They gave workshops before giving a big concert. I signed up for the […]

Sometimes people talk about different keys of music as if they are distinct emotions. Sister Rosetta Tharpe said B is the sad key, in an interview once, Dylan said E […]