JPEG image-F107444D5288-1.jpeg — Video and audio clips to celebrate a life in music

*...well, up to 7:00 AM this morning*

Released in 2019, most of this record is actually ten years old. Despite what the credits say, that’s me on this track. Tommy Campbell was the first drummer to make me play in 7/4 in the mid 80s. Been loving it ever since.

Paul Simon live in Paris. As a kid, my family would take a yearly trip to Paris and each time we'd visit the Olympia to hear music. The first time I played there was with Paul and we made a live DVD. Few performances hold such an emotional significance for me. My parents were in the hall and Paul called them out from the stage. They were tripping.

The CJP in Puerto Rico. Dave Samuel's band was a good school for many young musicians who were interested in exploring jazz with a Latin tinge. I played and recorded with Dave on and off for fourteen years. When I was researching videos for this site, I came upon this performance which is singular in a way because our drummer's flight was cancelled and a young drummer named Tony Escapa happened to be there and he read the gig down. You wouldn't know it from listening to this. Poor quality but cool memory and killing playing.

Kim Plainfield, Live at the Berklee Performance Center, July 2013. Kim passed away suddenly last year and we miss him terribly as a player and a mentor. This is one of his favorite songs and I know he loved this performance. In memoriam with love and respect.

JiHye Lee Orchestra - April Wind. JiHye is one of the most talented arranger to come out of Berklee in recent years. This is a beautiful video filmed live in the WGBH studio in Boston

THE ROGUE. Another track with Kim, and one of his best friends Lincoln Goines, on bass. Kim really liked that tune of mine. The thing about it is that we ran a quick rehearsal the night before and Kim and Lincoln played it like they wrote it. That's what i call the "take no prisoner, no bullshit, New York approach to music." I lived in that city for eleven years and it still baffles me somehow.

Robin McKelle Lover Man (arr.Alain Mallet) Robin was my last steady gig, I spent the best part of three years on the road with her. When she took her band into a new direction I decided to quit the road. I wrote many charts for her and I always loved the way she sang this one. Of note, Peter Slavov who also plays on Mutt Slang, is on bass.

For this record we knew we wanted live takes with everyone playing together. On this tune we figured we'd fade out, so when you hear the first few piano fills, that should be the end of the song... but then, the band kept playing and Abe Laboriel (our drummer) and I went kinda nuts (it must have been the 18" hihat) By the time we mixed it Jonatha had decided that the solo was an integral part of the song, against the advice of our dear friend and exec producer Tommy Lipuma. I just stayed quiet. From a record production perspective it's a kiss of death, but from a musical one, hey, she's got a point.

Ilona is a great singer who's perfectly bilingual but her French interpretations bring out something different in her voice. Nothing says French quite like a waltz, and despite the jazzy treatment and the mix of Afro Peruvian and Middle eastern percussion, this arrangement of a Charles Aznavour classic sounds 100% French to me.

No real story here, I simply love this track, I love this band, so just enjoy I guess. Chiara: vocals, Piano: Alain Mallet, Guitar: Adam Rogers, Side Drum: Dan Rieser, Percussion: Jamey Haddad, Bass Guitar: Ben Street, Background Vocalist: Alex Alvear Producer: Russ Titelman

Mosaic is an album that i really love because the band is great, the music is fresh and I played equal amounts piano and organ (both on this tune) Dave lost his fight against Alzheimer in 2019, so this is a tribute to his great talent.

George Garzone, John Lockwood and Antonio Sanchez. This one's for you drummers. Yeah you know he's special.

Excerpt from Mark Walker's show with solos by the great Tim Miller and yours truly