I just had an incredibly enjoyable conversation about music with Nikhil Hogan on his excellent music-interview podcast and I just wanted to share it with you here . We talk about my life as a jazz pianist / composer , jazz vs . classical instruction , my studies with Don Pullen and Jaki Byard , scoring for media , working with The Roots , and more. Nikhil to me is truly onto something with his interview approach. As I told him myself after I heard his excellent podcast with former child prodigy pianist Matt Savage a couple of weeks ago, he really has an unusual knack for asking the exact sort of questions of artists I wish as a listener I could ask myself, probing for specifics and details, yet still keeping the whole thing broadly accessible and enjoyable for both the interviewee and audience. I also admire his open-minded attitude about musical style and genre, and, in fact, I would encourage everyone to subscribe to his podcast and also check out his past interviews!

Also last month I was excited to participate in an unusual site - specific play created in 48 hours directed by incoming Luna Stage director Ari Kreith in West Orange and Orange , NJ , entitled "Walking the Valley". Ari has always been a true "connector", constantly making introductions among artists from diverse worlds and disciplines and dreaming up different collaborations, and this work was no exception. Designed as a way of highlighting 3 different locations, the work featured poetry , musical theater numbers , dance, and more. My contribution was " Orange Song", choreographed by Chantel Adams , sung by Joanna Warner , danced by Ilana Ruth Cohen , and written / arranged / recorded by me (of course quite quickly!) for the occasion. Here's an excerpt: