Pull Together

Recently we watched “The Boys in the Boat,” a film about the 1936 Olympic rowing crew from the University of Washington. While there were many timeless lessons in the story, it seems to me the best was the idea that to win, the team had to learn to row as one. “Every man for himself” … Continue reading Pull Together →

Words and Works

Once upon a time, I lost my keys in the snow. Obviously, they didn’t make it to the bottom of my coat pocket. I realized this when I got to my office. After I retraced my steps, there was still no sign of them, so I mentioned their disappearance to our custodian, Mac, when I … Continue reading Words and Works →

Superiority

In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Data, the android character, is stronger and tougher than any human. His memory is more accurate, and his brain is much faster. He was built to last for hundreds of years. Data is clearly better than humans in many ways. More recently, a Russian science fiction television series called, … Continue reading Superiority →

Making the Grade

I required listening quizzes as part of my jazz history course. These consisted of 10 excerpts selected from the assigned listening. Students would choose from titles and artists on numbered and lettered lists. So, if I played, “West End Blues,” by Louis Armstrong, a student could answer the letter of the title and the number … Continue reading Making the Grade →

Simplicity

For many years I became depressed during the holidays. At a time when many seemed merry and bright, I felt sad and alone, as if the message of Christmas hadn’t quite reached me. Often, I felt like a Yuletide Sisyphus, trying to push a gigantic snowball up a wintery hill only to have it roll … Continue reading Simplicity →

Spirit and Truth

“Say the secret word and the duck will come down and pay you 100 dollars.” Some variation of this line was used on the radio and TV show, “You Bet Your Life,” which was a small part of my childhood. The show combined the wit of Groucho Marx, light-hearted interviews, and a game in which … Continue reading Spirit and Truth →

What’s the story?

As a young musician, I was taught, "Early is on time. On time is late." Often there is a specified “call time,” 15-30 minutes before the “downbeat,” or “start time” of the gig – excuse me, the engagement. Like the military, “if you’re on time, you’re late,” and “late is unacceptable.” A band I played … Continue reading What’s the story? →

Control

I remember reading the syndicated comic strip, There Oughta Be a Law! From 1944 to 1985, Harry Shorten and Al Fagaly highlighted many of the ironies, absurdities, and hypocrisies of the time – the worker who was often late coming to the office but was always on time for golf – the neighbors who paid … Continue reading Control →

Camelot

I'm grateful to my mother for getting me stories on records when I was in elementary school. For example, I listened to “Tale Spinners for Children” stories of Robin Hood and The Knights of the Round Table among others. I have written about how stories like these helped shape my sense of right and wrong. … Continue reading Camelot →

Reactions

Once upon a time, as I prepared for a sabbatical leave, I made notes on each of my trumpet students, so my replacement would know what they had worked on and what I planned to cover that semester. I made a list of warm-ups, studies, solos, and duets for each student, with a short paragraph … Continue reading Reactions →