Did a couple waltzes tonight. The last piece I took the opening motif from Beethoven's Fifth and had a bunch of fun with it. It morphed into Fiddler on the Roof and Fly Me To the Moon, so go figure. I had a couple note accidents; it is surprisingly difficult to play faster than one can think! ;)

One piece is definitely not relaxing, be warned. I started off just playing with staccato (light, separated notes) but didn't find my footing right away. At some point the left hand turned into a fast walking bass, then a kind of ragtime. My deal with myself is to practice "Yes, and..." when it comes to the direction the music is going, so I didn't fight it and just went for it. Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon was quoted a few times, too. Enjoy.

Quite the large audience tonight! I never know, nor does it matter, but it certainly is fun. I followed a common pattern of starting off with a few single notes which becomes the thematic material for the piece. Later pieces can have more energy and movement, and we bring it home with a simple tune to say goodnight. At the very end, I played a little phrase that took me into the final notes of "Where is Love" from the musical "Oliver!". I thought that was some subconscious at work. It felt good in any case. Enjoy.

A couple new people tonight; always fun. I felt in the zone tonight, and enjoyed composing as the music unfolded moment by moment, which has always been what I try to do! A few pieces felt like they could have ended a bit earlier but I was enjoying messing with them too much!

My friend and flautist Paul Harris joined me again tonight. It is always such a treat to play with him. It is rare indeed to meet another musician who can jump in to free improv, listen for harmonic shifts, know when to play and when to pause, take the lead and generate ideas for us both to develop, indeed a treat.

I have been away for several weeks, but back now for some time, so look for a new episode each week!

Tonight Paul and I did several pieces in solid diatonic territory, but we stretched out on one atonal piece, which was actually quite fun.

All good friends who know the drill here tonight. I edited out the clapping. I spent most of today doing paperwork and purging emails, so I was in a blah state when people arrived. I told them there were no guarantees; the music may put people to sleep or I might start banging as loud as I could. Kinda did a bit of both! Enjoy?

Several new friends tonight! Had about 12 people in the the audience. The piano was tuned today by the great Victor LaGamma, so I naturally was drawn to the most sonorous of harmonies. I seem to be averaging about ten minutes per piece. That's not a plan, but an observation!

Some melodies were circling around in my head that might have been a nod to "Laura", "But Beautiful" and something else, but I never quite went there.

I was busy doing house chores and paperwork and din't have a chance to set up sounds for using the electronic music studio, so once again tonight is solo piano only. But hey, that's how this whole thing got started so I'm not worried I'm not meeting expectations... Anyway, had a good sized group tonight, and more than one person seems to have visual responses to my music, which I think is super cool. Enjoy.