2015: Looking ahead at another exciting year

Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and got to spend time with loved ones. I’m looking forward to a lot of things in 2015. Already this weekend we’ll be attending the APAP Conference in NYC. Friday, January 9, I’m playing duo with my bassist at the opening party at the home of singer Allan Harris. It’s a beautiful brownstone in Harlem. The party is invite-only and the audience is a who’s who of jazz. There will be some other pianists playing there, too, like Cyrus Chestnut and Monty Alexander. Then Saturday, January 10, my trio will play a showcase at 5:30pm at the New York Hilton in the Harlem Suite on the 4th floor. This performance is free and open to the public. I’ll also be at the APAP Conference all day Saturday and Sunday doing some networking.

I have some other notable performances coming up too. My trio is performing for the first time in the Highland Jazz Series on March 21 in a show they have billed as “The Other Yoko.” On April 2, we’ll be featured performers at Mechanics Hall in Worcester as part of WICN’s 45th Anniversary Celebration. We’ll also be continuing our residencies at Les Zygomates, Ryles Jazz Club, and Thelonious Monkfish.

I’m also looking forward to the start of another semester teaching at Berklee College of Music, where I’m an Assistant Professor in the piano department. I exclusively teach private piano lessons and will have close to 30 private students this semester! I’m extremely proud of my students from last semester for scoring so high on their proficiency exams, as well as for making a name for themselves as burgeoning performers at Berklee and around Boston.

We recorded the show at Scullers this past November as well as capturing the performance on video. Watch out for some high-quality videos coming very soon and a possible second live CD release! Hope to see you soon at an upcoming performance!