I'm getting a lot of enjoyment out of practicing lately. Since I made the commitment a few months ago to spend more time with my "student mind", if you will, I've found it more and more rewarding and necessary. It's something I tell my students all the time, but it's worth noting that it can be easy to forget...even for a teacher. :)

Sticking our necks out again....

Well, CD number 8 is "officially" released: "Torch", by DI3 (formerly the Dave Isaacs Trio but now an equal partnership). Having done this so many times there's a part of me that enters into this with some trepidation....once again, you pour time and money and care and a lot of raw emotion into a little square package and put it out there for the world to hear. Sometimes people freak out and you're the greatest thing ever. Sometimes they could care less. My experience, like most people's, has always been somewhere between the two extremes. But there's a difference this time. DI3 is, as I said, a partnership between three friends who happen to play music very well together. None of us are looking for stardom. We do want to be heard, because playing music is what we do....and while we would do it regardless, it's better to have an audience and a fan base so that you can potentially achieve financial success while you're at it. And we all want to be acknowledged, right?

The original goal of "Torch" was to document something that all involved think is special. We've achieved that goal, and so the next goal is to grow our audience. This is music that we all believe needs to be heard, and we love to play...so it's a natural next step. And if that audience happens to grow larger than we had envisioned, we can just be happy and celebrate that success. This is the first time in almost fifteen years of making records that I'm already content with what we've achieved. The rest is gravy. what a relief, and a joy....to play for the love of the game.

Reconnecting with Creativity, or What You May Have Never Lost.

Over the past three years I've been so focused on teaching that I spent less and less time creating and writing. That began to change last winter when I realized that I was in danger of losing touch with a part of my life - and a part of myself - that I don't believe I can be happy without. In the past nine months I've started and finished two CDs - one with my trio DI3 and one for my friend Rebecca Hosking - and written and recorded lots more new music. Getting back in touch with my own creativity has been an interesting process, though. Teaching is creative work as well, especially if you really care about reaching students and making a lasting mark. It's also been great to see the work my students have been doing, some of them have been an inspiration to me as well.

After many years of thinking that my "artist self" and my "teacher self" live in two different worlds, the past year has got me thinking differently. I may need to dress a little differently in one role than the other, and speak a little differently. (My university gig certainly demands a level of formality that the rest of my life doesn't). But they're two sides of the same coin: I couldn't teach what and how I do if I weren't DOING it, and teaching makes me think differently and listen more intently. From the business side, my private teaching studio and my college positions bring income and formal credibility that help me book workshops. Workshops are lucrative and are something I can do on the road...making it easier to book more gigs, which raises my profile, which creates more demand for my teaching. Full circle. So what if it's only taken me until my 40's to figure that one out! It's just more proof that teachers can still learn and that players need to play. Simple as that....and my energy and motivation have really ramped up in response. More good things are coming my way, it's already begun. Just goes to show....when you look at your life and start asking questions, you just might get some answers.