Category: Uncategorized

Things can look great on the outside but if there isn’t quality underneath, what’s the point?  A few years ago, I was in a house fire—we awoke at about 3 in the morning to confusion…smoke so thick you could hardly see your hand in front of your face.  It was complete mayhem as we rushed out of the house with what we could carry, waited for the fire trucks to arrive in the cool Autumn east coast night and watched most everything else be either charred or saturated beyond recognition.  The next day we learned that it was because of the thick, old fashioned beams that this attic fire had not collapsed the ceiling on us while we slept. Good internal construction saved our lives.

Quality ingredients, carefully prepared equals better end result.  This is just something I believe to be inherently true in life…and in music.

So lately I have not been as active with shows on the performance calendar but I have been working hard at my music and have been taking part in some recording projects including a Christmas album for Jeff Johnson which I cannot wait for you to hear, and a jazz album by sultry vocalist Tasha Miller which is still in production. 

I’ve been honing my jazz vocals—combing material for what feels true and works with my voice, and thinking about what it is I’d like to play as a jazz violinist who is more enamored with beautiful lines and tone production than churning out slick hooks.

I’ve also been crossing my T’s and dotting my I’s in regard to my albums licensing, my status as a songwriter and my presence on the web.  It’s not always as much fun as playing and singing for a live audience, but I think it’s very very important to make sure that I’m going about things in the proper way.  It frustrates me immensely that so many artists record and distribute cover songs without getting permission.  While one can argue that it’s the “big record companies” and all that nonsense about the little struggling artist, one can make the same case for stealing stuff from a large department store or not paying taxes.  Okay…maybe some of the same people do that too!  At any rate, I am trying as best I can to make sure that I do things right.  I’m thankful that the people who built the cottage I slept in on that October night a few years back chose to properly construct the beams or I might not be here to be blogging today about my musical journey!

My favorite scene in any movie of all time can be found in White Christmas.  Wallace and Davis (aka Danny Kay and Bing Crosby) have just come to see the Haynes Sister act (aka Vera Ellen and Rosemary Clooney.)  Hoping sparks will fly between the workaholic Wallace (Crosby) and the mother hen (Clooney), Danny Kay and Vera Ellen’s characters leave the dinner table to share a dance sequence that starts on the ballroom floor and works its way outside culminating on the roof of a veranda.  In the old movies and the musicals, there is angst and love, friendship and conflict but the emotions are ALWAYS big and you know what they do when they are trying to figure things out?  They sing about it! 

In jazz there is that element of history—the old movies, the gorgeous evening gowns, the debonair man in the smoking jacket, combined with that “in the moment” improvisation and style—never the same way twice!  With jazz, you’re not trying to sound like so and so’s amazing Carnegie Hall recording… you’re trying to give the song what it needs at this exact second.  You’re trying to sound like yourselves… and it’s a communal effort.  You listen, you respond, you musically converse. 

To prepare, rather than practicing a passage over and over again until you can play it exactly like Joshua Bell or sing it like Kathleen Battle, you dissect the song until you understand its very fiber.  You explore what could be.  Then you take your ideas and you tuck them in the back of your head because everything could change in the moment with the collective creativity of the band, the house, the magic in the air. 

THIS is why I love jazz!

What a lovely time I had performing tonight at a benefit for Newberg’s Faith in Action organization! We did a 30 minute set that was a mixture of Celtic, Scottish, Jazz, Classical and original music.  It was exciting to be able to share a brand new song—so new that I don’t have a title.  I recorded the concert on my minidisc player and will hopefully post excerpts later this week.

Lyrics to the new song as follows-

Every day it seems another tragedy
Another war, another casualty.
Another one has fallen to disease
Another case of selfishness and greed.

Too many too much to take in.
Does the right side ever win?
Does it even matter if I try?
These are the questions I hide.

It’s not very easy to know what to do
But I’m gonna spend some time with you.
It’s not very easy to know what to say
But I’m gonna give my love away.

You give much more than you probably should.
And sometimes you feel misunderstood.
You wonder if it matters how hard you try.
Well I’m still standing by your side.

(chorus)

Is it too late to stand my ground?
Is it too late to try?
Is it too late to turn this thing around?

***

Writing this song has helped me remember that each of us has influence in our community to make the world a better place by reaching out to those around us.  Even if it doesn’t feel like much in the face of so many problems in the world…those little things add up.

I am so blessed as an artist and a human being to have these out of body moments when I look down on my life and think “Really?  I get to do this?  How cool!”  Sunday the 1st of November was one such day.  Friend and colleague Tasha hosted our joint studio recital in her beautiful home.  We had a wonderful turnout of well prepared students.  Some of them were even joined by musically inclined parents—how beautiful when music can become not only a form of expression, a study in language for a child… but also a parent child bonding experience!  I look forward immensely to our next recital in May.

  Tasha is a great piano teacher—the kids were not only playing but some sang along with their performance.  These photos were taken by Yvonne Kazmierowicz, an amazing mother of four who I admire greatly for a myriad of reasons, one of them being her photography skills.

Back for it’s sixth season, we are delighted to present three concerts this year!

DATES
Wednesday, December 2nd:  7:00 PM  Newberg Friends Church
307 South College Street  Newberg, OR 97132
503.538.8381

Thursday, December 17th:  7:00 PM  Sydney’s Cafe with guest artist Dave Iula
NW 15th & Thurman Portland, OR 97209 503.241.4313
www.sydneysportland.com

Tuesday, December 22nd:  Holladay Park Retirement Community
Portland, Oregon (semi-private event) 
If you are interested in attending, please call 503.860.7688

LISTEN
For your enjoyment, here is a live recording of Midnight on the Water from 2007.  Grab yourself a cup of cocoa (with marshmallows please) and enjoy!

Midnight on the Water Live

Last Wednesday & Thursday it was Wendy Nirvana as some of my favorite pass-times converged.

Like Starbust candy: sweet and tart at the same time.

Like Oreo cookies:  creaminess and crunchiness working together for the ultimate junk food experience.

In other words…

I got to be outdoor adventure girl with my violin!  Together with brave fellow musicians Ashley, Nelly & Kelli we were part of a video shoot that drew us from the very rugged edge of the Oregon Coast (and when I say edge, I mean edge!) to the watery wonderland of the Columbia River Gorge. 

There was a great team spirit facilitated in part by my dear parents who came along to bless us with amazing food and care for the wee ones of Effesenden.  We met new friends: thanks Tye & David for all of the trees leapt out of and rivers forded.  We bowed to the whims of artistic genius and adventurous madman Sam Martin (I mean that in the most complimentary of ways Sam!)  And now we wait with great anticipation to see what  emerges from this wild ride. 

I am so excited to share the finished piece with all of you!  From the little bit of footage we saw, I think it’s going to be very unique!  Until then I will continue to nurse my aching feet and mosquito bitten arms.

We had a great time at the Summer Splash concert today in Lake Oswego.    It was exciting to debut a new song called Tired of Waiting and to do some covers that are new to us.  In particular, our pianist, Aaron Pruitt, did a fantastic new arrangement of Billy Joel’s Lullaby which he dedicated to my daughter Vienna… it is so awesome and humbling to play with musicians who are such kind people on top of being amazing artists… Thanks Aaron! 

The ensemble was a fun combo of instruments—a quartet with me doing double duty violin and vocals, Ashley Peck on cello, Nate Macy doing guitar and bass and Aaron Pruitt on vocals and keys.  I hope we’ll find more opportunities to perform with this group as it is very versatile and has a fun chamber vibe to it.

Thank you so much for coming out and spending your lunch hour with us.

Back in 2000, my roommate Cary and I were living in a little vintage apartment on the Park Blocks near Portland State while I was working on my masters.  It was a depressing year… missing friends from college, the end of a relationship and the fact that our apartment’s windows faced a sliver thin inner courtyard meaning virtually no natural light was to be had.

One of the only things that kept us sane was a constant diet of good music and a favorite of ours at the time was the Windham Hill album “A Celtic Christmas.” Okay, Okay I’ll admit it:  I’ve been known to listen to Christmas Music year-round.  Who would have guessed that almost 10 years later, I would find myself going on tour with none other than the writers/performers of three of the songs on the album— Jeff Johnson and Brian Dunning.

I’ve already had the chance to play with Jeff this past Spring at the Grotto in Portland and up on Camano Island, Washington.  He and Brian’s music is wonderful—peaceful and joyful at the same time.  I can’t wait to be a part of these special concerts! 

You can check out the tour dates on the Upcoming Shows page of this site.

My musical collaborations with Nate Macy began at the Coffee Cottage in Newberg, Oregon in the Fall of 1996.  At that time, I was just beginning an undergraduate degree in classical music, driving to Portland twice weekly for rehearsal with the Portland Youth Philharmonic and to McMinnville for private violin lessons.  My plate was pretty much heaping full but I had always loved the relaxed creativity of the folk, gospel and blues that I had played with my family and at church as a child…. so when the opportunity arose to play some shows with Nate, I thought it would be great fun.  Together with my brother Bryan, pianist, guitarist and songwriter and our friend Bill Nippolt, drummer and percussionist, we formed a band: the QLO was born.

Flash forward to 2009.  Nate and I both have our separate musical endeavors but decided this Spring to be intentional about renewing some artistic collaboration… and here we have the result.  A live demo—recorded on two microphones on a single track in a small studio space with a sleeping greyhound on the floor for most of the sessions.  We have so much fun playing together and so the purpose of these recordings is to pursue live performance opportunities around the Northwest so that we have an excuse to write, arrange and collaborate some more!

Star of the County Down has always been a favorite melody of mine and many of my violin heroes have recorded it.  It originates from Ireland and as with many fiddle tunes, it is about a beautiful girl. The singer of the song vows to make this “Star of the County Down” his bride no matter how long it takes and what the cost.  In our instrumental version we wanted to capture the many faces of love:  from longing and near despair to flirtation and the thrill of the chase.  Does our poet win his prize in the end?  I’ll leave it up to you to decide. 

Star of the County Down Live