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John Wacker, In Pen

The trumpet community, the music education community, a whole lot of college music students, and a beautiful family were all laid low today. John Wacker—Professor of Music at Western State Colorado University, trumpet player, and dear friend—was killed this morning in a head-on collision. When Ward called today with the news that John was dead, […]
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Birth-Day

Right now I’m in a delivery room in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, listening to my unborn son’s amplified heartbeat, hours away from being a father. I’m writing this between contractions and nurse drop-ins, a paragraph at a time as Elena and her mother try to grab the briefest of naps. I imagine I’ll […]
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0 Days Since Our Last Accident

I’m a musician for the Army. It’s a good job, and I like it. Gives me the chance to wear a lot of hats. I get to play and compose music, write stories about our band and the stuff we do. Another job I get to do is load the trucks after concerts. Me and […]
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Mingus vs. The Army

When I get really busy, I blog less. That obviously makes a blog completely pointless, so this entry represents an attempt to turn that trend around. Some really cool things have happened lately, and I need to write them down before I get too addled to remember the details. First: composing and soloing with the […]
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Where We Were

I haven’t experienced many “Remember Where You Were” events. I wasn’t around for the Kennedy Assassination, or John Lennon, or the moon landing. I do remember where I was when the Challenger Space Shuttle exploded (Mrs. Stuart’s 2nd Grade classroom), and when OJ Simpson was acquitted (Mrs. Perdew’s Problem Solvers class). And, of course, the […]
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Baltimore Recharge

My last few months have been a clinic on sleep deprivation. Not in the “I sure could use a nap” kind of way… more of an “I’m starting to see things that aren’t there” kind of way, and I’m not kidding about that. I felt my limits creeping up on me all summer, but saw […]
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