EAST COAST GRIT-WEST COAST SOUL

 East coast grit and west coast soul meet at the confluence of jazz, singer-songwriter and americana-soul in this album entitled ISH. Poetic lyricism melded with stylishly executed rhythms carry you underneath a dreamy starlit sky where the moon longs to catch the sun, or to mourn the soul that leaves the body through the feet. West coast organist Wil Blades adds his super soulful playing on a reimagined Easy Rider and east coast drummer-icon, Billy Martin adds his artwork to the cover.  Add to that a saucy arrangement of Willy Wonka’s Candy Man and a metaphorical bridge between riding bikes and staying in the flow, you have a new genre and album called ISH.

 

Every word, progression, and story comes directly from an unwavering commitment to creativity and authenticity. Original lyrics are inspired by trees, rivers and are usually written after a long bike ride or powder session, when I am in awe of this amazing planet. My tip of the hat to the straight-ahead jazz idiom is clear in my arrangement of the classic Benny Golson tune, Whisper Not.