Yesterday I performed what has become a December tradition: attempting to finish a 50 kilometer hike through the mountains on Vancouver’s north shore. “Why?” you may ask. It’s a good question. A non-stop march through rugged terrain that takes between 13 and 18 hours to complete is no laughing matter. It helps to love mountains of course, but there is no denying the fact that such a trip will involve a certain degree of...
This time I said I’m going to keep my cool Not going to lose my head Not going to play the fool And that four letter word I will not speak The one that starts with “L” And ends with “E” Chorus: But everywhere I go People seem to know Just what I’m not speaking of And they say…. They say “You must be in love” Stopped by a café One Saturday afternoon I had a smile on my face I was humming a tune And the barista said As she poured my...
It's been a long journey, but I am thrilled to be releasing my second album, "Borderless Sky". A project like this is always intensely personal, but it also involves many other people along the way to bringing it into being. There are 8 tracks, ranging from the romantic to the lively and humorous. Songs like "They Say" and "Traces of You" are classic jazz, and feature piano and trumpet, recalling the style of Louis Armstrong...
When I was a kid I listened to a lot of Nat King Cole. His smooth vocals and almost confidential tone were part of my early exposure to jazz. I also listened endlessly to an album by his daughter, Natalie Cole, whose versions of "Nature Boy" and "Lush Life" still dominate my memory. When I started writing the songs for this album, it was inevitable that these experiences would colour my style. I think of...
Well, it's been a long journey with a lot of unexpected delays, but my second album is almost ready to release. It will be called "Borderless Sky" and includes a mix of all original songs, from vintage jazz to a few tracks with a more folk or country twist. This album also includes one of my favorite songs of any I've written. It's called "Back Country Blues". The first line is: There's a summer...
When I am not writing songs, I write poetry. In fact, reading and writing poetry was a regular part of my life for almost as long as I can remember...
I am very fortunate to live in one of the world's most beautiful cities. I love Vancouver for its mountains and water...
When my time to go comes I’ll miss the rain That falls fragrant on the earth And greens it again I’ll miss the way spring Makes everything new But I don’t know how to say Goodbye to you When my time to go comes I’ll miss the blue Of cold mountain shoulders And fields full of dew I’ll miss the moonlight And star dappled skies But I don’t know how To leave you behind When my time to go comes I’ll say goodbye To lilac colored mornings And orange evening skies But there is...
Voice of the lonely You were the bard Of the famous blue raincoat And the end of love The growling conscience of the future Poet of backroom drunks And solitary hearts Who walk the city streets Alone with their longings Nameless and reckless You lived intensely In the bareness of your white rooms Distilling the marrow of desire Maps of flesh Tracked relentlessly Tracing the lust and the hallelujah On bended knee Speaking aloud what we barely knew But felt without words Fedorad monk of debauchery Drunken poet of grace With your canticles of longing And...
Your touch is fire, beloved Sudden sparks along the neural net Leaping, arcing, spreading Beneath my skin Like sky-dazzling diamond peonies On the Fourth of July Fading into glow Breaking into slow flame Blazing and roaring, incandescent Until we fall -- embered with bliss Trailing light Into the silent depths Of the flesh-colored nights Phosphorescent down the long hall of memory Like bonfires along a beach Light towers for a midnight ship They are patterns against the dark Trails of fleeting joy Lamps leading home...