Today is National Coming Out Day, and I’d like to talk about my teachers, my colleagues, and my peers. I didn’t come out formally, publicly, until May of 2020. I’d been out to handfuls of people here and there for a couple years already, but when I moved back to
Read MoreAfter my first trip to IWBC last year, I wrote a little round-up of my experiences there. I kept it pretty top-level, sticking mostly to safe topics and general stories. The plan was always to dive back into certain things in more depth, but I decided I wanted to wait
Read MoreUntouchable took me a month and a half to write, but I spent four years trying to articulate its content. As (the blessedly many of) y’all who read it probably saw, I referenced fifteen other pieces I’ve put out since early 2017. This morning, I piled all sixteen posts into
Read MoreWhen I was an undergrad running with the jazz boys, no one wanted to sleep with me. …Yeah, I didn’t know how to start this one, either. For all my work addressing sexual assault, I actually don’t spend all that much time dealing with sex. (I tend to leave that
Read MoreA lot of the lessons I’ve learned in music school were designed for my male peers. Or, at least, they were designed to *work* for my male peers.
Read MoreI told some friends I was considering pitching a project I’d be bandleading. It didn’t go as planned.
Read MoreIt’s December 1, 2019, and I’m propped against the comfiest pillows in my apartment, poring over the second edition of Robert Walser’s Keeping Time: Readings in Jazz History in preparation for a forthcoming guest lecture. I’ve got tons of time—until sometime next semester—but because I’m trying to highlight the connections
Read More“You are implicated.” It’s an important phrase in music and pedagogy alike. Let’s talk more about it.
Read MoreWe’ve got music to play, and for the first time, a lot of it’s our own. Let’s talk about where we’re playing those shows and why.
Read MoreLet’s talk about Paying Your Dues and irresponsible gatekeeping, particularly in the Phoenix jazz community. Buckle up; this is a long one.
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