Greetings!

It's been a while so I thought I'd update you on some of my recent activities, from my 5th Emmy nomination as composer, to some upcoming performances (leading a Bluiett Tribute Band at the Vision Festival, solo piano at Seed Artists' Freedom of Sound: Percussion Festival, my Brooklyn College Global Jazz Masters big band concert this Tuesday with master Indian violinist Arun Ramamurthy and others), and more!

Needless to say, please don't hesitate to contact me for any of your producing , composing , arranging and performing needs, as I'm available and always on the lookout for new projects and potential collaborations !

I'm excited to have just received my 5th Emmy nomination as composer , for " Outstanding Original Song in a Children's or Animated Program " for the PBS show " Peg + Cat" ( along with lyricist Billy Aronson - who was also nominated as " Best Writer " for penning the same overall episode!) The show also received 3 additional Emmy nominations this year, and has won 7 total Emmy's over its entire run (including an Emmy I won for Outstanding Musical Direction and Composition as part of the composing team, in 2016 ). If you're in the U.S., you can hear my currently nominated song by clicking below:

I'm also excited to be writing the music for songs for the new hit Sesame Workshop kids show " Esme & Roy ", now showing on HBO . You can check out some of the songs for which I wrote/arranged/performed the music at the following links from the show's Youtube page: " Ooga Restaurant "; " Just Me and You "; " Go Snugs, Go! "

As jazz musician/producer/bandleader/panelist I also wanted to let you know of several upcoming events. The first (taking place this Saturday, April 27th in NYC in the morning at 107 Suffolk Street ) is my participation as panelist on " The Working Life of the Musician" at the first FreeJazz Convention , joined by such illustrious colleagues William Parker and James Brandon Lewis . More info here .

This Tuesday, April 30th at 8 pm I'm also excited to be presenting music in my capacity as Program Director for the Brooklyn College Global Jazz Masters program, and as director of their Big Band . The performance is the culmination of a semester-long exploration of the music and performance style of Indian violinist Arun Ramamurthy , who will be featured along with his colleagues Pawan Benjamin on bansuri (Indian flute) and Swaminathan Selvaganesh on kanjira (Indian percussion), featuring big band arrangements written and developed in my Global Jazz Masters arranging class by my students, plus a couple of my own compositions . It should make for a fascinating evening of musical exploration, and I think is an excellent example of what we're trying to achieve with the Global Jazz Masters program itself [more info on joining our program as student for Fall/19 can be found here!] .

Tickets are $10 at the door (free with Brooklyn College student I.D.), or $10 plus $3 processing in advance .W Ti

I was excited to have been asked by long-time musical colleague Pheeroan Aklaff to participate in his Seed Artists Freedom of Sound: Percussion Festival taking place in Montclair, NJ ! It's a two-day festival, with my solo piano performance (featuring the premiere of several new works of mine ) taking place the 2nd day, during the evening of Sat. May 4th . More info/ticket info available here.

The CD "Love's Languages" by jazz vocalist Joyce Griffen for which I produced/arranged/played piano and conducted is out and I'll be participating as Music Director/pianist in the release party gig taking place Sunday, May 5th from 3-6 pm at the West End Lounge (in the upper West side of Manhattan) in a concert featuring long-time collaborator Sam Newsome on soprano sax , Gerry Gibbs on drums , a former student and talented flute player Gabrielle Garo on flute, and more. More info/ticket info here.

I was excited to have been asked to lead a special " Hamiet Bluiett Tribute Band " in honor of one of my most influential mentors, the late, great baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett . The concert will take place as part of the 2019 Vision Festival , on Sun., June 16th , and will also feature James Carter on bari sax, Darius Jones on alto sax; William Parker on bass; Ronnie Burrage on drums; and Juma Sultan on percussion. More info/tix available here .

FINALLY: Also upcoming is a special Bluiett Memorial taking place at St. Peter's Church in NYC the next day being organized by Ronnie Burrage in which I plan to take part, and featuring many musicians who were touched by Bluiett's profound influence (on Mon ., June 17th - more info to come!)