1-   “What advice would you offer a new listener who will be experiencing your music for the first time, either in concert or via one of your recordings?”

FIRST OF ALL, DON’T LET THE INTENSITY THROW YOU OFF. COLTRANE WAS AND IS MY MODEL IN MANY WAYS AND INTENSITY WAS A TRADEMARK. BELIEVE IT OR NOT I DO ENJOY PLAYING SLOW AND SOFT MUSIC AS WELL. A SHORT GUIDE FOR ENJOYJING MY MUSIC: LISTEN FOR SHAPES RATHER THAN LINES; FOR COLOR/TEXTURE RATHER THAN TONE. IMAGINE THE RHYTHMS I PLAY THAT OFTEN BOUNCE OFF THE PULSE AS SMALL DETOURS ONE MIGHT TAKE WHILE WALKING IN A PARK, EXPLORING SOMETHING OFF THE GIVEN PATH. LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION WITH THE OTHER MUSICIANS. MOST OF ALL LISTEN TO THE STORY (FORM) THAT I TELL…THAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF MUSIC TO ME. BE PATIENT, LISTEN AGAIN A FEW TIMES AT LEAST AND TRY TO BE OPEN TO THE VIBRATIONS.

2-“What would be the first recording of yours that you would recommend for an initial listening experience and as a good introduction to your music?”

  “THE LONELINESSOF A LONG DISTANCE RUNNER” IS PROBABLY IMPOSSIBLE TO GET BUT IN ANY CASE IT IS A SOLO SOPRANO SAXOPHONE RECORDING I DID AROUND MY 40TH BIRTHDAY IN 1986. THE TITLE (TAKEN FROM A BOOK/FILM) AND THE COMPOSITONS ARE METAPHORS FOR THE PERSONAL AND INTENSE INNER VOYAGE THAT ARTISTS OF ALL STRIPES GO THROUGH. I LIKE PROGRAMMATIC WRITING, MEANING AN IMAGE INSPIRES A MUSICAL SOUND. SOME OF THE TITLES OF THE TRACKS ARE: PERSONAL BEST, AGAINST THE WALL, BREAKAWAY, ALONE, VICTORY/ DEFEAT, ETC. THE WHOLE RECORDING IS ONLY SOPRANO SAX WHICH AT THAT TIME I PLAYED EXCLUSIVELY (PUTTING THE TENOR DOWN FOR A FIFTEEN YEAR PERIOD). THERE ARE SEVEN SOPRANOS OVERDUBBED FOR EXAMPLE AT ONE POINT. AS WELL, IT IS THE MOST COMPOSING I HAVE DONE FOR A RECORDING. THE MUSIC WAS DEDICATED TO AN ARTIST I CONSIDER ONE OF THE BEST EXAMPLES OF A LONG DISTANCE RUNNER, SOPRANO MASTER STEVE LACY. “RUNNER” WAS PRODUCED BY KURT RENKER AND INCREDIBLY RECORDED BY WALTER QUINTUS ON THE CMP LABEL FROM GERMANY.