is the song I'm currently listening to in preparation for the first set of shows of Facing East: the Music of John Coltrane.

I've been working on this project in some form or another for 14 years @ this point so it's with great awe that I begin to actually bring forth my ideas among a distinguished group of musicians:

Michael Campagna - tenor saxophone
Jef Neve - piano
"Level" Neville Malcolm - bass
Richard Spaven - drums

power

basically it's gonna be dope!

don't want to really go into it here but if you are in the area + planning on coming + don't have a ticket yet I strongly recommend you get one as all the shows are headed to a sellout! 

great shows in the States - thank you to everyone who made it out + showed love!

many thanks to Ben Ratliff for his outstanding review of my show @ the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival with Junior Mance - I am speechless!

NY, D.C., Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis - you're all blessed!

just a quick album update - due to additional production needs BLACKMAGIC will be released in 2010 on Brownswood - will post the new release date asap but probably will be released mid January - just in time for my birthday!

other news -

for those lucky enough to hear the group during the last two weeks in the US, those were some of the temporarily final performances with the excellent Gideon van Gelder in the piano/rhodes chair as he's beginning to work seriously on his solo album - which I have no doubt will be tremendous -

the first night of the Facing East project happens to fall on Trane's birthday - no mere coincidence although it wasn't humanly planned + we're recording it live!

what a tremendous blessing!

some tracks will no doubt find their way to this myspace in the next few weeks

until next time I leave you with these words from Trane:

"May there be Peace, and Love, and Perfection, throughout all Creation, oh God."

onelove

J