Good People, coming to you via the brilliance of email with Leonard Patton’s new CD as the soundscore to this most excellent moment. It’s been a wonderfully busy time for me so I’m jumping right in with the details.

Thanks to all that made it out to last weeks Schulman Auditorium gig with Steve, Bob and myself. We had some great moments of music and for me the highlight was the ultra slow “I Didn’t Know About You” by Duke Ellington. It just floated in pure audio bliss as Steve got into his whistle tones on the flute and Bob guided his insane sustain low-end bass notes through the song. Magic!

The big news for this week is the emergence of Leonard Patton’s first CD aligned with a concert at Dizzy’s featuring the same group that recorded the CD. Leonard and I have been making music together for the last 16 or so years and he’s one of my absolute favorites. As a vocalist he sings with great spirit and energy and brings out the feeling of the song. As a musician he’s able to explore the freedom of improvisation along with the details of reading music and playing complex arrangements. He’s like a horn player and with him you get a front person vocalist and a trumpet player all in one package. Ever heard him sing muted trumpet? Brilliant! Leonard and I have had so many great musical moments and may they continue on.

Leonard’s new CD is called “Love, Life and Song”. Almost all of the songs are ones that Leonard wrote and I think they’re great tunes. The band on the CD (and concert) consists of Darek Oles on bass, Josh Nelson on piano, Duncan Moore on drums, Leonard on vocals and myself on guitar. I know you’ve all heard Duncan, Leonard and I play a lot but have you ever heard Darek and Josh play? The absolute best—fantastic musos! We recorded on a couple of days last February and it was one of those sessions where it really flowed and everyone knew we were into something special. Leonard at the helm, directing traffic, paying for lunch, leading us through some choice tunes. He’s a multitasking hero!

Look below for the details on this Friday’s concert with both us, the live band, and the recorded us, the CD, bringing it on into the free world. I hope to see you there.

And also for this week, guitar shredananda Fred Benedetti and I will be part of an event honoring sitar guru Ravi Shankar sponsored by the Museum of Making Music. Ravi’s been a part of most of our musical lives. For me, it first emerged through the influence of Indian music in the Beatles music. Later, his 20-minute ragas set the sonic background for hatha yoga sessions. Ravi brought the transcendence of Indian music to the west through pure devotion and passion. Fred and I are thrilled to play some music for him and to be part of this event.  If you can’t make it, hopefully we’ll get a couple of photos to share with you.

That’s it and keep the sky in your head...Peter