Last tour is in the books! We had the great Carmen Bradford one of the great jazz vocalists of our time! Honored to call her friend!

It's been a beautiful fall! Some pictures minus all my deer pictures. I'll have it's own blog! LOL

I don't know how this is possible but met up with my niece Kelli for dinner by her new apartment!!! I never gave permission for her to grow up!!!!

I'll come back through some of these blogs and write more later but always good to see friends along the way!

Been blessed to play a lot of great gigs lately. Because I'm short on time I won't explain each gig but good time of music and fellowship!

One of the greatest perks of this job has been getting to know so many of the masters of this music! It was so fun to hear the first hand accounts of the history of jazz from someone that was there. Mr. McPherson is a kind man and swinging' like nobody's business! Honor to be able to hang for a minute. I included a first time meeting him and current. One of us has aged and it's not Mr. McPherson!

Well 5 years ago I was working with MSU down at the Detroit Jazz Festival. There were many things I wanted to see when we got done playing but I was more happy to go pick up my bride from the airport. Even though we got married on July 1 she had to sell her house yet and finish up work out there so she finally moved here on the Sunday of the Detroit Jazz Festival! It was a great day! 

I'm so happy for my sister Chandy and her new husband Rick! It was a small intimate wedding and God painted the backdrop! The really professional looking pictures were taken my brother Nathan! 

Our annual jazz convocation, this year we welcomed Mr. Walter Blanding to the professors!

Had a great time at the 1st annual Springfield Jazz Festival. Got to see a lot of MSU Alum, Byron Alum, Friends from Columbus, the amazing Sean Jones and Bobby Floyd, Todd Stoll, Mrs. Diehl, and heard Samara Joy. She lived up to everything I've heard about her and was so sweet! On the return trip home I visited another one of my heroes old stomping grounds. Mr. Jeff Hamilton from Richmond, IN. Big storms on the way down that kept me taking pictures! LOL

I didn't know Dan well but in the few times we talked you felt like you knew him for a million years. Amazing trumpet player. I'm really feeling for my friends Mike Harvey and Jim White who were really good friends with Dan. I also am thinking about Dan's student Daniel who I met at Ellington this year and is the greatest HS lead trumpeter I've heard. He is a great testament to Dan and honors him well! 

​Gathering to celebrate this time! It was good to see so many people last night. This was Elijah’s last gig before his college career starts Friday! He received a scholarship from the West MI Jazz Society and as a result got to play a couple of tunes with the Grand Rapids Jazz ORchestra!
Both organizations hold a dear spot in my heart. The jazz society awarding me the 2014 jazz musician of the year will always be a deep honor for me, and the GRJO I started playing with as a junior in high school when it was the Aquinas College Night Band under the great Bruce Early. My teacher Mr. Dan Kovats would bring me to rehearsals! I played lead trp., Solo trp ., and drums with them. I owe a debt to so many current and past members for their contributions to my musical journey!
I have had many many awesome students who I love and am so proud of over the years many doing great things musical and non musical around the world but none have been as special as Lij! What an awesome way to bond with my nephew! He is the student I taught the longest as I started teaching him in 3rd grade. He is smarter than I could ever hope to be! He is very talented but has worked diligently for where he is. It has been fun to introduce him to so many of my friends in the jazz world. Despite all his accolades and accomplishments and brilliance, he is still one of the most kind and respectful people I know! He is a HS graduate and still says he loves me every time I see him! I will miss our weekly get togethers but am so happy to turn the reigns over to one of my dear brothers Mr. Keith Hall! Love you Lij and thank you for so many memories! Remember me for comp tickets when you are sharing the stage with my heroes!

I did a little video/recording with my good friend Lisa Sung as a musical thank you to so many that have shown so much love over the past year! Big thanks to my good friends Steve Boughton and Jen Shangraw for their amazing work always! You can see the video on the videos page on this website!

I had Talia's graveside service for just our immediate family. I am so grateful for my family and all the love and support they have given me though this very trying season in my life. Love you all. We had blue roses which was Talia's favorite. 

I bought tickets to go see my hero Jon Faddis play at Dizzys to celebrate his 69th birthday. He called and said you're bringing your horn right? I said heck no! He said I brought mine to yours so you have to bring yours to mine! I couldn't argue! LOL As intimidating as it was, I had so much fun sharing the stage with my hero and such amazing trumpet players. A night I'll never forget! 

Well, I thought for Talia's Birthday, I would do something that she loved to do. A VLOG. Not my thing but ok, I'll do one to celebrate Talia. Well, the video is too big and I have to get to my gig so I'll figure it out in-between getting home from my gig, packing, driving to Det. to Catch a flight to NYC. So Happy Birthday Tal! I'll figure it out and pt. 2 will be coming the video..... So until I get home enjoy a still picture of Talia in her element Books! LOL 

I've been able to start getting out and seeing people more now so that has been good. Some have pictures some don't. A few weeks ago was able to have dinner with my dear friends Sandy and Dale Billingsley who just have been so kind and helpful navigating through things with Talia. Then I was able to spend a day with my dear brother Alvin Chea and his Aunt in North Carolina. Lot of love and encouragement and food!!!! Last week me and one of my dear friends Oh and great guitarists of the world Randy Napoleon and I went and had some Indian food which was killin' and great time. Went back to my HS days and drove to Ann Arbor to have dinner with one of my dear friends Ken Laberteaux who him and his entire family have always been a second family to me! Drove to Grand Rapids to have dinner with two friends from my old church. We all now belong to a club that we don't want to belong to. The fellowship was so good and encouraging. Thankful for my dear brothers Ralston Bowles and Tony Himlelspach. Chuck Roberts and I usually will get coffee every week on a day, which we did, and he has been one of the most amazing friends someone could ask for! Then I went to hang for a minute with my dear friend Keith Hall who sounded great as always and always is so encouraging to me. This week had coffee with my dear friend Steve Boughton freshly back from Austria and again someone that I could ask anything from and he would do it for me. Then I have go back to my first year of college on this one but was fun to get caught up and reminisce with my good friend Sam McIlhugga, Then rounded it out with a tip to Detroit who is counting the clock down to hosting the NFL draft in 2024. I guess not a lot of hope for the next 2 seasons of lion football! LOL Two dear friends I met through Take 6. We had a lot of laughs and we could laugh loud because we were the only ones in the entire restaurant. That in itself was fun. Blessed to have so many beautiful people in my life especially when times get hard. I hope I got everyone! 

Where to begin? I'm going to keep this one pretty general and not too personal. I'll be more transparent in the next one when I have a little more time to write. Besides God , family, and friends, the following have been helpful to shape my thinking. I feel my mind is in a pretty good place for the most part, the heart is still pretty broken. However, I'm thinking a lot about the future, and goals, and so I'm making good headway in that area. Ok, enough, I'm excited to share some of these resources that have been so encouraging to me. 

I consider Bill Johnson my Pastor. Unfortunately he now knows all too well what I have been dealing with the past month as his wife passed this week. His comments here were super helpful to me. He actually spoke today and it was emotional. Here are some of his notes. Some may not make sense out of context:

Notes: 3 days after Beni passed Bill preached this: (from Kris Vallotton)
-The backslider in heart will always judge God by what He didn’t do! 
-Answers wouldn’t fix the problem, only His presence will. 
-Heaven is HIM! 
Mark 16:9-11 Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping. When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it.
-Mourning kept them from believing. 
Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
-Mourning can lead you to comfort or it can lead you to unbelief. 
-The inability to live with mystery keeps us from childlessness.
-Hope is the joyful anticipation of good. 
 
-If I praise Him without surrender then I am just making a business deal- I will do this for you and you do this for me. 
-I don’t ever want to be the one who critiques God; He critiques me. 
-My friendship with God can only go as far as the depth of His Lordship in my life. 
-His gives us peace beyond our understanding therefore I have to give up the right to understand so I can get the peace He wants to provide for me! 
-Worshiping in pain is only possible on this side of heaven so this is a privilege. 
Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

-We must live in holiness and endurance. 
-Every loss is a seed that can bring life and blessings! 
-God bring beauty out of ashes.

And again, someone that knows, as Dr. Tony Evans lost his wife. In both of these cases, They were wholeheartedly believing for healing! That was a big worry of mine, but these have really helped shape me. 

One of the great blessings of my life is my 3rd grade teacher! She made such an impact on so many. It's such an honor to still have a beautiful relationship with her and her husband. She sent me this. There is no way I could have appreciated this book without the pain I've been through. His brutal honesty was very encouraging to me! 

I had dinner with two old friends on Friday,  that we all shared unfortunately the situation that we had all lost our wives. It's this club that we never wanted to belong to. There was, however, a sense of bonding that unless you have specifically lost a spouse, you can't understand. I have had a lot of loss in my life, students, co-workers, a parent, mentors, musicians, etc.... but this is on another level. So, my one friend gave me this and I'm looking forward to its daily thoughts.