Well, like many people I have great intentions but life seems to get in they way of carrying them out. The days fly by and before you know it, you’re late for something you haven’t even expected. When January arrived I was making plans to erect a giant black monolith in my back yard. Now it’s almost 5 months later and I barely have time to cut the grass, let alone send signals to benevolent extraterrestrials. I guess I should just stick to playing music.
Speaking of which, I had a great time playing with the Blue Noise Band at their CD release party on April 7. The new album is called “Brad Green From Queens” and I appear on two tracks with a hard-hitting saxophone quartet. BNB works with Russ Smith’s Chocolate Records.

My calendar is full with the Seth Walker Band. Check out www.sethwalker.com to see our playdates. April & May are mostly Texas touring dates, and June will be when we head toward the East Coast. We’ll begin our next album at the end of the summer.

I had a wonderful interlude subbing with the Marcia Ball Band the weekend of March 30-31. After a charity ball in Victoria, TX, we hopped a 6am flight to Tampa for the Tampa Blues Fest, then drove across the state to Melbourne for the Mesa Park Blues Fest. I arrived back in Austin on Monday, groggy and sleep-deprived, a state in which I lived for 7 years when I was Marcia’s sax player. It made me all weepy and nostalgic.

I’m teaching my Jazz History Class through the University of Texas Informal Classes again. It’s interesting to have the Ken Burns documentary as a reference point now. Even those who haven’t seen it are aware of the controversy over the show, which artists were included and which were not. Beyond any criticism, Burns has helped foster more debate about jazz.

I have also been getting more of my writing published, mostly music reviews. I will try to include these articles in my website archive, and would appreciate any comments/reactions. Of course you can always check out the Diverse Arts website for my articles in Austin Arts Downtown (www.diversearts.org).

The summer looks like it will be a busy one. I have plans to visit my cousin out in L.A. Mister Tommy K plays guitar out there with a number of groups, including his own jazz/blues trio. Check him out if you’re in the vicinity.

Meanwhile it looks like our few weeks of spring are done. The temperature is rising here in Austin, and those balmy 100 degree days will be here soon.