James Hurt seems to have disappeared. He’s my favorite of the young jazz pianists right now (my new definition of young is anyone under 40 – it used to be 30, but that was ten years ago when I was young and didn’t know any better). Blue Note really did him a disservice, but I’m not really surprised, since they had no idea what they had on their label.

Michael Franks asked me to play piano on one of his tunes for his upcoming release (Rendezvous in Rio). It’s going to be an acoustic version of his hit “Antonio’s Song,” for the Japanese release only. I was on AllMusic.com the other day and I was a little dismayed to see the reviews given to his albums over the years. They don’t understand him at all. He has the highest respect of essentially the entire community of jazz musicians (keep in mind, jazz musicians are the most picky, snobby group of all), yet the critics seem to somehow think he’s another Yanni or something like that. He’s not: he’s the ultimate peace/love greenpeace hipster who actually lives the part, not just acts it. He also sounds like no one else – this fact alone makes him a valuable voice in the world of modern music. 

“As for essayists and critics, they are like cuckolded husbands: always the last to find out….” – Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavic

This is my new blog. Got my fingers crossed…