This note will relate some of the trainings I’ve been doing (and going to!) as well as health and other stuff. Let’s get started!

MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING

WiseWoman has once again hired me to do a round of trainings in Motivational Interviewing. This is a style of conversation that avoids arguments or confrontations in favor of developing a collaborative stance with your client. It’s essentially respectful.
I’ve done several trainings for WiseWoman around the state in the past, and also did a two day training for the staff at Devos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids. I have two more dates in Grand Rapids and Gaylord, Michigan to round out the summer.

IT’S A HIT!

I consented to have examples of these conversations taped by WiseWoman over a year ago. I looked at the first one we made, which describes the interviewing technique “Developing Discrepancy”, only to find that it had thousands of hits! In fact, as I write this on July 1, 2011 there are 16,295 hits on this site.

You can see it yourself here:

OTHER TRAININGS

I attended some superb trainings this Spring, including a two day training by Josh Smith on Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), a ‘working with eating disorders’ by Tish Vincent, treatment of sexual addictions by Randy Flood and a workshop on Jungian dream interpretation by Howard Tyas.

HEALTH

This past winter my doctor looked at the results of my blood test and told me my sugars were getting too high. He showed me how the elevation of my sugar readings perfectly traced the gradual incline in my weight. I was well above my BMI (Body Mass Index) weight, which topped out at 185# for my height. He suggested I change my diet and increase my exercise. He told me I was heading toward a diagnosis of diabetes unless I could turn things around through life style changes.

Now I’ve exercised regularly over the past thirty years, so it was distressing to hear I needed to up the ante. But I couldn’t deny that, very gradually, I had added 40 pounds of unwanted ME, mainly around my middle.

First step was diet. I had an appointment with a dietician, and we analyzed my diet. I’ve attended Weight Watchers in the past, so it’s not like I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. Out with fast food and sandwiches, sugar cookies, ice cream and pizza. In with steel cut oats, salads, lean proteins and fruit.

Then a friend asked me, “Do you think you could swim for 20 minutes, bike for 20 minutes, and run for 20 minutes?” He was trying to entice me into entering the IRONMAC event at the Michigan Athletic Club. I thought I could. So the next day I tried it, but cut the amount in half. I swam for 10 minutes, biked for 10, and ran for 8 before I was pooped. Not as in shape as I thought. So I slowly worked my way up to it and then entered the competition, and finished!

By now, I was hooked. I looked up a website, Beginner’s Triathlete, and designed a training regimen that would get me ready for Hawk Island Tri-Sprint in the spring. The training was diligent but varied. I worked out 7 days a week: one long run, one short run, one long swim, one short swim, one long bike, one short swim. Plus yoga on the off day. The variation in the routine kept me from wearing down, like I’d experienced when I was way into running.

The event itself was actually fun. I just stayed at my own pace, didn’t let ego get the better of me (I can’t believe THAT person just passed me!) and enjoyed the whole process. I’ll do it again.

All this, plus I lost 30 pounds so far. 10 more to go (the hardest 10). In the meantime, I’ve eaten pizza a couple of times, a Five Guys cheeseburger, some pasta, a few wonderful steaks. But now I use them as treats to eat rarely instead of staples in my diet. And I feel great. I’ve had to buy new clothes as I’ve dropped a pant size. No more extra large shirts. I have more energy and get more done. And I’m happier.

The links between exercise, diet and good mental health and wellness are indisputable, and being added to on a regular basis. So, my friend, I ask you: Do you think you could swim for 5 minutes, bike for 5 minutes, run for 5 minutes?

I’m participating in a panel discussion today at my alma mater, M.S.U., to discuss working as a therapist. I’ve been able to make a good living doing meaningful work and have managed to put together a life that has included things I’m passionate about.

One of the questions on the prep sheet for the speakers is “What is a typical day like for you?” I realized, it really depends on the day. From Monday – Thursday I see clients. From 4-7 clients a day, sometimes in the a.m. but most often in the afternoons and evenings. My caseload includes teens and couples but mainly adults. Some issues we address are depression, trauma, anxiety, relationships, substance abuse, creative blocks and personal development. I usually end up seeing between 17-25 people a week. Why that number? If I see more than that, I end up burned out. If I see fewer than that, I can’t make a living. So, that number has evolved from my personal experience as optimal.

On Fridays I write. I’m writing my second novel, a mystery. I’m calling it a post 9-11 mystery set in Greenwich Village. I don’t want to say too much about it, but there is a political and cultural sub-text and a story line that is very compelling. And frightening. I really intend it to scare the hell out of you.

On Sunday nights I host my radio show: The Vinyl Side of Midnight. I’ve done this since 1997, believe it or not. Three of my favorite hours of the week, as I spin records and CDs, 95% jazz and 5% whatever. I also interview both national and local jazz personalities every few weeks.

So, how can YOU develop your own practice? Here’s my top 5 pieces of advice:

1 – Develop a specialty. I started in family therapy. Hardly anyone was doing family therapy in Lansing in the 1980s. Now tons of people include it as part of their practice. Since then I’ve developed a number of other specialties, including EMDR and MET/CBT, stuff that is uniquely specialized that you can’t get from most providers. Specialize.

2 – To get what you haven’t got, you’ll have to do something you’ve never done. Get good training. Get supervised. Find the national and local experts and allow yourself to be mentored. Make this a life long habit. Some day, and you’ll be surprised at how quickly it occurs, you’ll be the local expert.

3 – Network. Give away the stuff you know to organizations. Free seminars. Meet other professionals for lunch. Give away your business cards. Make a web site. Join organizations that might have an overlap in your area of expertise. Blow your own horn. Find kindred spirits and create your own support groups of friends.

4 – Volunteer. You’ll meet people from all walks of life and it will broaden your experience and they’ll also learn about you. And you’ll make new friends.

5 – Keep your passions alive. I love to write. I love music. I love to travel. I’ve found ways to do all three in this career. This can be tough work. Keeping your passions alive will keep you fresh and vital. In the same spirit, take impeccable care of yourself. Feed your interests. Feed your spirit and your soul. Take care of your body. Start a practice of regular exercise.

Hopefully this has been helpful. You’ll find your own way, and maybe some day you’ll be able to share with someone else what’s worked for you. Best of luck!

I haven’t written here in a bit; a busy spring which included getting married to Cathie Blumer (see photos of the wedding on my facebook page if interested) at the Creole Gallery in May. Work has been intensely busy and prepping for the Peninsula Writer’s summer retreat/conference in June, which I’ll be co-coordinating with Kimm X. Jayne. We’re having poet Mary Ann Samyn as our speaker this year, a native Michigander who now teaches at West Virginia University and the winner of the Emily Dickinson Prize from the Poetry Society of America. Cool.

Here are some random (really) thoughts that have been on my mind this season:

- Seeing a wave of clients who are now bona fide marijuana customers; some of these folks identify themselves as being in recovery, yet smoke pot on a daily basis. Will marijuana be to alcohol what methadone is to heroin? A less dangerous addiction? I’m not seeing much written about this (yet) but I’m betting other therapists are seeing the same thing I’m seeing in my practice. I have split feelings about this and am likely to explore this topic at more depth here in future. Maybe the very near future.

- Summer is here lining up for the festivals I love to attend: Old Town Jazz Festival; the East Lansing Summer Solstice Jazz Festival has upped the ante by including Joe Lovano in their line up! And of course the Detroit Jazz Festival, which looks amazing, again. My daughter is getting married a half a day away from Detroit, so I’m going to have to miss a good chunk of this year’s festival. But you can’t do everything and family trumps everything.

- Politics. The news about the BP oil spill, the emergence of the Tea Party and the story line of the Obama administration continues to be riveting for me and I can’t go a day without catching up on what is happening. I’m an unapologetic liberal, and I believe that change, progress and evolution are essential if we are to survive, not as a democracy even, but as a species. The corporations, which hit their high water mark under the rein of Haliburton/Cheney/Bush will not go gently into that good night.

- Mysteries. Finishing the first draft of my Murphy mystery and gaining a whole new appreciation for the craft of creating suspense, tension and release. Watching Hitchcock, reading Cormac McCarthy, and devouring lots of material along these lines. I haven’t been sleeping as well as I’d like. Is there a connection? Which brings me to….

- Spirituality. My sister Linda has inadvertently started me on a course of meditation. I’m starting small, attempting ten minutes a day of focus on my breath. Usually I get a few moments of complete stillness here, but it’s a beginning.

LIT: A MEMOIR, Mary Karr
Best book I’ve read so far in the young 2010. The author of The Liar’s Club and Cherry continues to amaze. I’m recommending this book to client’s of mine who are interested in addiction and recovery. Provocative and jagged in sections, but ultimately a soothing balm that relays possible pathways in negotiating the 12 steps. I found this book to be beautifully written and exquisitely moving.

In A Perfect World, Laura Kasischke
Another apocalyptic landscape, perhaps a feminized version of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Laura has such mastery in portraying the internal landscape of her characters and a poet’s eye for the natural world. When it all goes wrong you can’t help but be captured by this book. This one kept me up at night.

My Germany, Lev Raphael
Lev’s best book (not that I’ve read them all, but he agrees). The son of holocaust survivors, the author tells the story of his parents with bruising detail. In the second part he tells about his own becoming, his rapprochement with his Jewish heritage, and his coming out. Finally, Raphael details his book tours in Germany (hence the title) to discover his own relationship with the places and people of Germany.

Lush Life, Richard Price
If you are a fan of The Wire you shouldn’t miss this book. Price wrote some episodes of the HBO series as well as several other crime novels. This one is set in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and the neighborhood becomes a character as vivid as any person in this story. The clash of overlapping cultures between kids in the project, gentrified hopefuls who all have screenplays but work in bars, Chinese, Jews and cops. Overriding themes of family and dreams and dreams that are crushed. A brilliant and entertaining ride.

Black Cross, Greg Iles
This is the first book I’ve read by Iles and I’ll be back for more. I’ve been telling friends that it’s a kind of a cross between Schindler’s List and Guns of Navarone. It’s a quick read for a thick book. A page turner. Taut.

Weather Bird: Jazz at the Dawn of Its Second Century, Gary Giddins
This tome collects many of the articles written by Giddins in the late ’90s and early ’00s. Giddins served as one of the primary ‘talking heads’ for Ken Burns special on jazz. His writing is superb, his topics (if you are a jazz fan or an aesthete) are compelling. Why isn’t jazz dead? he asks at the end of this opus. The preceding 600+ pages give us more than a hint of an answer.

End of the year, end of the decade Musical Notes

As one decade tips into another it was irresistible to indulge in a favorite past-time: making lists. Here are a few relating to music:

My 10 Favorite Musical Moments of 2009

Emceeing at the Detroit Jazzfest – Meeting Jesse Palter was a pleasure, introducing Geri Allen was a thrill, but the funniest moment was bringing on a high school band at the festival. I called them “Up and comers…” only to hear a Beavis/Butthead voice somewhere behind me chuckle, “He said come…”; really, it was all I could do to keep a straight face.

Wayne Shorter Quartet wows an enormous crowd with 90 minutes of uninterrupted improv at the Detroit Jazzfest

Rodney Whitaker’s many roles at the Detroit Jazz Festival, from leading the MSU Big Band in accompanying Dee Dee Bridgewater to presenting an homage to Donald Byrd’s New Perspectives to playing with Christian McBride and John Clayton’s “Bottoms Up” bass spectacular to his own collaboration with Carl Allen and their hot CD “Work To Do”, Rodney was everywhere doing everything. Are we sure there’s only one of him?

The Roots & Parliament Funkadelic at Common Ground – probably the most jaw dropping fun I’ve ever had at a concert event. Sun Ra meets James Brown. Unbelievable.

organissimo battles Linda Dachtyl during an organ throw down at the Lansing Jazzfest.

Professors of Jazz play the Creole. Can we wish for this to continue to be an annual event? Is that possible?

Larry Cosentino on The Vinyl Side of Midnight. Going through our ‘best of’ lists. Great fun.

Hank Jones/Chick Corea opening night at the Detroit Jazzfest. Pianistic elegance and virtuosity side by side.

Pete Siers Quartet CD release party at Kerrytown Concert House – Pete brings in Pat Labarbera as a sax ringer to join the saxy front line + organ in an homage to the great Blue Note sound of the 60s.

Sophie Milman plays Wharton Center and Diego Rivera surprises as the Lester Young to her Billie Holiday. Music magic follows and the duo tour Russia.

My 5 Favorite Jazz Trends of the Aughts

The Creole Gallery – Robert Busby and Meegan Holland were the dynamic duo of the decade, making the Creole Gallery THE musical destination for jazz, folk, blues, etc. A perfect example of syngergy, they gave a gift of love to the community and presented Lansing with the coolest thing I’ve ever seen here. Wynton Marsalis, MSU Professors of Jazz, Cyrus Chestnut, organissimo, Mose Allison and many others carved out a chunk of wonder in night after night of fun and music.

Jazz Festivals Galore – Where did jazz go in the aughts? To the streets. Not just the Old Town Jazzfest but East Lansing’s Summer Solstice created a jazz bracket to the summer. Oh, and did I mention the Detroit Jazz Fest, rising from the ashes with the help of Gretchen Valades and wunderkind director Terri Pontremoli? The hottest festival in the world right now, trust me.

MSU – Rodney Whitaker sat across from me during his first appearance on The Vinyl Side of Midnight and said, “I want East Lansing to become a jazz mecca.” We may not be downtown New York, but for a midwestern city we have become a destination. Whitaker created a place that not just welcomed jazz stars like Derrick Gardner, Wycliffe Gordon and Wess “Warmdaddy” Anderson to teach and play, but also saw the development of great jazz talent ala Diego Rivera (who became a Professor himself), Kris Johnson, Lynne Grunwald, Mike Sailor, Curtis Taylor and Ben Williams (who just won this year’s prestigious Thelonious Monk award!)

The Rise of the Independents – Just as the publishing and movie companies constricted access to the magic making machinery, so did the big recording companies nearly kill the goose. But, like movies, jazz players went indie, and then with the rise of smaller labels (that are quickly becoming big labels, like Origin, AUM, Mack Avenue and OA2 for instance) the tunes are bubbling forth like never before.

The Vinyl Side of Midnight – How could I not pick my own show as one of my favorite trends of the decade? I don’t know how long this show can last as WLNZ has switched to LCC Radio and a triple A format, but what a great decade this has been for jazz on the radio in Lansing!

My 10 Favorite CDs of the Aughts (not jazz!)

Amy Winehouse – Back to Black; Retro yet modern, Winehouse shakes out the ghosts of the Shirelles and Motown while crafting her own tragically sultry style. Let’s hope she pulls herself together for a long career, but it’s doubtful she’ll ever top this masterpiece.

Robert Plant & Alison Krause – Raising Sand; A little bit country, a little bit rock, mostly subdued and haunting. Who’d have guessed this pairing would work so well? T-Bone Burnett, for one.

M.I.A. – Arular – Imagine a cheerleader who leans towards revolution and is a beat maestro. Weird and very catchy.

LCD Soundsystem – LCD Soudsystem; Daft Punk IS playing at my house.

Justin Timberlake – Future/Sex/Lovesounds; Ready for the funk, mouseketeers?

Bjork – Medulla – All vocals. All sweet ear candy.

Toumani Diabate – Boulevard De L’Independance – The Sergeant Pepper’s of African music.

Hamsa Lila – Eh Mustapha; A nostalgic nugget for a very special night at the Creole Gallery.

Tribalistas – Tribalistas; The CS&N of Brazillian music. Heavy rotation in the car.

Wilco – Yankee Foxtrot Hotel; The country-alt band crafts The Great American Album.

(Honorable mentions: No Doubt – Rock Steady; Sufjan Stevens – Illinoise; The Neptunes – Present…Clones; Nelly – Nellyville; Missy Elliott – So Addictive; Outkast – Speakerboxxx)

Everybody Dreams

There will be a reading and a book signing at Schuler Books in Okemos on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 7:00p.m. Hope to see you there.

I’ll also be starting a NEW Dream Group. Some of the fans of the book have discussed when I’m starting a new dream group and this one will start in mid November. We’ll meet week on Thursday nights, 6-7:15p.m. for a total of 16 sessions (just like the novel!). The cost is $45 per group. Space is limited to six attendees. So call me at #336-7721 to sign up.

How I Spent My Summer

This has been a very full season for me and I’m grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had this summer. There were speaking engagements in Traverse City (Motivational Enhancement & Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for the M.S.U. Summer Institute with Monkey Business Consulting), Montreal (The Solution Focused Process for the International Policy Governance group that services boards of directors around the world with Sue Stratton), and Detroit Ren Cen (MET/CBT again for the State of Michigan Substance Abuse Conference). Deborah Johnson Wood and I served as coordinators for this year’s annual Peninsula Writers Summer retreat at Glen Lake, with Guggenheim winning poet and novelist Laura Kasischke as our keynote speaker. I emceed at both the Lansing and Detroit Jazz Festivals. Cathie Blumer and I traveled to New York for a week of research on my new novel in August. In between it all I had book signings in Traverse City, Montreal and Grand Rapids. Again, I am eternally grateful for all of these wonderful chances to connect with such diverse groups of people over ideas and creativity.

Book Reviews
THE ALCOHOLISM AND ADDICTION CURE (A Holistic Approach to Total Recovery) by Chris Prentiss; Power Press

This past year I started to hear clients talking about this book, then saw it advertised on television, so I knew that I had to read it myself. The book asks the question: Is There A Cure For Alcoholism? and answers an emphatic YES! So, first as a clinician and secondly as a practitioner of a different approach to recovery, I was very interested in checking this out.
Chris Prentiss is the author of a dozen self help books. I haven’t read any of these but it is interesting, first of all, that this is his background. He isn’t a doctor or a therapist. He goes at great lengths to describe his upbringing by a sociopathic mother and his own problems that he experienced early in life. One of the best features of the book is a very extended chapter written by Chris’ son, Pax, who describes his own story of addiction and recovery.
I had a mixed reaction to the book. I felt that Mr. Prentiss makes some good points and I would like to expound a little of the positives and negatives about this book:

POSITIVES:

Mr. Prentiss stresses the need for an individualized treatment approach, something you don’t always find in the treatment of addictions. And I agree with this.
Mr. Prentiss takes some well deserved swipes at the field of addiction treatment, though he also offers a disclaimer in support of Alcoholics Anonymous. Much like Herb Trimpe does in his work with Rational Recovery. I DO think that there needs to be alternatives to A.A. Because A.A., in spite of having the best recovery rate of available programs, doesn’t work for everybody. And maybe nothing will work for everybody. But if there are several viable options for recovery, all the better. And they don’t need to be at war with one another.
I also liked the very strong focus on both the physical and psychological health of the client. Chris and Pax are founders of a treatment center in Malibu. He encourages everyone who can to attend his treatment center, naturally. However, if you can’t, he descibes how one can design their own treatment.
You see, Mr. Prentiss doesn’t believe that people use drugs or drink too much because they are alcoholics or addicts. He doesn’t like those terms. He believes that there is one or a variety of several reasons WHY people use. Here are those reasons:

Cause 1: Chemical imbalance
Cause 2: Unresolved events from the past
Cause 3: Beliefs you hold that are inconsistent with what is true
Cause 4: Inability to cope with current conditions

(It is interesting to contrast these causes with what research is telling us about who is likely to become addicted: a blend of genetic predetermination with either depression, anxiety, trauma, delinquency or truancy as key variables.)

So Mr. Prentiss believes that one must address the underlying cause to cure the addiction.
And then, and this is important, the individual can NEVER use drugs or alcohol again. I’m betting this is disappointing to most alcoholics and addicts, who usually go through an extensive search to find a way to continue to have drugs or alcohol in their lives successfully before surrendering to abstinence.
Mr. Prentiss encourages the use of a holistic team of healers to address the underlying issues: integrative medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, clinical psychology, marriage and/or family therapy, hypnotherapy, personal fitness, visualization and meditation and spiritual therapy. He also encourages the creation of a healing circle of friends that will support your new self.

NEGATIVES:

As I mentioned above, Mr. Prentiss is not a physician, nor a PhD nor a therapist. But he does believe in change as a reality which is a positive. At the end of the day, the addict still has to remain abstinent, so where’s the cure? And the swipes he takes at A.A. are, I think, unnecessary.

Bottom line: in the A.A. literature they relate that “We know but a little…” and I’m glad people are out there researching and finding new avenues to recovery. A.A. says that those who complete the program are ‘recovered’ or cured from their alcoholism. But in the end, they say that the most an alcoholic can hope for is a ‘daily reprieve’ from their condition. It doesn’t sound like Mr. Prentiss offers much more than that.

OLIVE KITTERIDGE by Elizabeth Strout; Random House

This book won the pulitzer prize in literature last year and it’s sure easy to see why. What wonderful writing and what a great character we have in Olive Kitteridge.
The book is actually less a novel than it is a collection of short stories, all set in the small town of Crosby, Maine. But all of the stories feature Olive. Sometimes her appearance seems more like a cameo. Few of the baker’s dozen focus squarely on her. This really doesn’t seem like a device, but a fascinating way to reveal aspects of a character through the eyes of a spouse, a son, a neighbor, an acquaintance. Such triangulation brings out aspects of personality that are often overlooked in fiction.
There is an old adage in psychology. There is the person we know ourselves to be, then the person we reveal to those closest to us. And yet another person who we are known by in public. Few stories delve into each of these facets of character, but Elizabeth Strout just nails it in this book.
We are treated first to a loving and bittersweet portrait of Henry, Olive’s faithful but wistful husband in the very first chapter. Subsequent chapters take us to a piano bar, a wedding reception, a donut shop, the reception following a funeral. I don’t want to reveal any thing else of consequence, because the reader will be delighted and in despair by the discovery of the events of Olive’s life. This is a book I spent hours reading aloud to my girl friend, and I don’t know which of us had a better time at it. This is a book that will make you laugh out loud (which is what began to reading out loud) and it will make you cry. And for all the vinegar that runs in Olive’s veins, you will come to love her. Do yourself a favor and get this book. And if you can, read it out loud to someone you love.

Detroit JazzFest 2009

Speaking of the Detroit Jazz Festival, Meegan Holland and I posted daily blog entries for MLIVE and Cathie Blumer contributed photos for this year’s event. I wanted to post my diary for the festival. I understand now that 700,000 people attended this festival, which has got to be the largest FREE jazz festival in the U.S.A., maybe the world. It is the best thing Detroit has to offer.
The Festival is always held on the weekend of Labor Day, but this event felt like it started for me the Sunday before, when I interviewed Festival & Artistic Director Terri Pontremoli. Terri is such a great interview, so bubbly and effervescent, a great ball of kinetic energy and a smile you can see over the phone. When it looked like the Detroit Jazz Festival was about to fold, Gretchen Valade (the owner of Carhartt clothing, Mack Avenue Records and the Dirty Dog restaurant) stepped in as a benefactor. One of the best things she did was to bring on board Terri Pontremoli, who has done such an amazing job of booking great talent and keeping a blend of new and old, local and international. But also keeping the emphasis on jazz. So many jazz festivals these days put jazz off to the side while their headliners are pop musicians.
On Friday, we (Holland, Blumer & Stratton) checked into the Ren Cen and headed towards that evening’s event: two headliners to open the festival, Hank Jones and Chick Corea/Stanley Clarke/Lenny White. After proclamations and awards had been deservedly doled out, Hank Jones took the stage. He was dapperly dressed in an elegant dark pin striped suit. He was joined on stage by bass stalwart George Mraz and drummer Carl Allen.
The trio opened with an easy stride performing at first Horace Silver’s Nica’s Dream, then a Wes Montgomery tune. I noticed that the 92 year old Jones would at times vocalize along with his piano solos, something I remember his brother Elvin doing when I saw him perform years ago. Hank’s playing was the epitome of grace and taste.
At one point Jones’ music blew off the stage, just as the band had kicked into J.J. Johnson’s Lament, which lead to an extended bass solo by George Mraz (what a beautiful tone he has!). They did a Charlie Parker tune (Jones is one of the last surviving musicians to have actually played with Bird), a tune by Hank’s other brother Thad (A Child Is Born) and some other classics. The trio encored by performed Thelonious Monk’s Round About Midnight.
The second piano trio of the evening also stuck to the acoustic format. Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White began by playing the Return To Forever tune 500 Miles High. Their playing was dynamic and blazingly fast but always tasteful. They next played a Monk tune, I Mean You and I thought about the evening being a Tale of Two Pianos, contrasting styles and generations. Lenny White’s drumming was more propulsive than swinging, a reflection of the rock influence on jazz in the 1970s. Stanley Clarke is such a virtuoso! I’d forgotten how much I liked his playing.
This trio then performed I Love You Porgy, followed by a dissonant interlude the morphed from a passage that sounded influenced by Bartok to Monk’s Straight No Chaser, before Clarke started a walking bass line and Lenny White started swinging underneath. The band’s encore was a medley of the Concerto de Aranjuez (via Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain) and the Chick Corea original Spain. Chick lead a kind of a sing along with the Detroit audience, which was clearly enraptured with the music. Everyone went home happy.
Meegan and I stayed up too late blogging at the Ren Cen lounge, while listening to a jam session that got progressively more interesting as the night progressed. Orrin Evans, Sean Jones, etc. etc. One table away a woman was holding forth with her pet dog, every musician in the place coming by to visit and chat. Turns out it was Dee Dee Bridgewater.
The next morning I wrote this poem while sitting in the Starbucks at the Ren Cen:

DETROIT
sitting in the coffee shop
Saturday, Detroit
a cylinder of glass, concrete & steel,
motown gives ‘the finger’
to the midwest
just as Joe Louis’ fist
is in your face
so is Detroit
attitude, swagger
not a sneer, but hip,
hipper than you, and tough
and music

from where i sit there
is music, a big band
practicing in a ballroom
the sound bleeding
into the core of the ren cen

detroit bleeds music
marvin & stevie & smokey
diana & gordy & aretha
iggy & eminem & grand funk

and jazz….
this weekend is about jazz
the players are the painters
the city is the canvas
the canvas Joe Louis
danced on to kick ass
the canvas Diego Rivera
used to sketch his great mural
the canvas of pollsters who
found out what’s happening
the canvas of a city
the music is the
paint of culture
and people, pain and laughter
work, effort, blood funk & attitude
swagger
“Hey Baby!”
that’s Detroit

I reflected on that very specific swagger that is so uniquely Detroit, a vibe that is so different than the New York vibe I was still feeling from a week before.
Ate a king’s breakfast at the Coney Island on Woodward (eggs, grits, sausage and pancakes) with Meegan and Cathie and slipped down to the ‘Talk Tent’ and heard a group of drummer (including Carl Allen, Karriem Riggins, Gayelynn McKinney and Michael Nastos) discuss Elvin Jones. This is such an interesting aspect of the festival, the chance to hear musicians meet and talk music. The consensus seemed that it was a journey to ‘get’ Elvin. The most entertaining story and insights were provided by Carl Allen, who talked about Elvin playing the drum kit at Bradley’s in New York on a tiny stand (“I like these drums but they won’t stay still.”) Carl also pointed out, and vocally displayed, how when most drummers play triplets they accent the first beat, but Elvin accented the second. Interesting.
Checked out a ripping set by Dee Dee Bridgewater and the MSU Big Band, conducted by Rodney Whitaker. Then slipped down to the Pyramid Stage to catch Jose James in his skinny grey suit. I heard two concert goers behind me describe him as a cross between Big Joe Williams and Al Jarreau. I am always impressed by how hip and knowledgeable the audience is at the Detroit Jazz Fest. I agreed with the guys in the audience, though I would add the ingredient of Gil Scott Heron. How is it that Jose James isn’t signed by a major record label? Somebody should snatch this guy up. He treated the audience to versions of Equinox and Stolen Moments, using a technique I’ve heard practiced by Eddie Jefferson and Kurt Elling to sing a solo using poetry instead of scatting. The keyboard player (who?) was great.
The big problem with the Detroit Jazz Festival is that there is NO WAY to catch everything. I left Jose James before his set was over in order to catch part of Sean Jones’ set at the Water Stage. I heard him play a soulful version of Mama with some gospel overtones.
We withdrew to try and blog midday and ended up missing too much music. So all of our blogs were entered very late p.m. or early a.m. after that. Live and learn.
In the early evening I caught part of Louis Hayes hard bop unit, featuring a great front line of Jeremy Pelt and Vincent Herring.
One of the highlights of the festival was Benny Maupin’s Dolphyana. Maupin was on sax but also clarinet and (my favorite) bass clarinet. Nestor Torres was filling in for James Newton on flute, with Jay Hoggard on vibes and Billy Hart on drums. The band performed Dolphy tunes, The Panther, Something Sweet Something Tender and Out To Lunch. They also performed a Maupin original, Message to Prez, which Benny dedicated to Lester Young. This was performed as a trio, with a series of existential queries, many phrases sounding like questions to the open skies of Detroit. No answers. The most avant garde event I caught all weekend.
Meanwhile, on the Main Stage Christian McBride’s Inside Straight was swinging away like crazy. They used a combination of originals and standards of the mainstream. A mix of muscle and finesse. I thought of Lionel Hampton while I listened to relative new comer Warren Wolf on the vibraphone. The band performed Brother Mister, which somehow seemed that the title track for the festival this year.
On Sunday, after blogging and another Coney Island breakfast with Meegan and Cathie, I picked up my emcee credentials and headed to the Pyramid Stage to introduce Jesse Palter. She is a great young singer via Detroit and Chicago and we will hear more of her. Jesse played several originals and made it clear that she’s a good developing writer as well as a song bird.
I introduced the Waterford Kettering high school band at the Meijer Education stage in the afternoon. These young kids were set up behind me and I was reminded of Beevis and Butthead when I said “Here is a group of up and comers…” only to hear a voice a few feet behind me snicker “He said ‘come’…” It was really all I could do not to laugh.
I caught up with my nephew, now Detroiter Ron Stratton for awhile in the afternoon and ate too much Greek food. Then headed to the Water Stage to introduce Geri Allen and quartet. Allen was having a dispute with the sound man, who was doing everything to address her concerns. Interesting to have a back stage perspective on how things get set up.
Geri Allen’s quartet featured a tap dancer on several of the tunes, whom she used as an instrumentalist. One of the highlights of the set was a ‘duet’ between the drummer and the dancer, which brought the huge audience to a standing ovation, just 20 minutes into the music. Geri continued to be highly creative by using a poet (Sandra Turner Barnes) and playing a great mix of originals and standards (McCoy Tyner’s Blues By 5).
Finished the day by listening to the Wayne Shorter Quartet play an uninterrupted 80 minute set of improv based music that was Herculean. I recognized Sanctuary and Myrrh in the mix, but I think most of the music wasn’t just the first time I’d heard it, it was the first time the band had heard it. I blogged at length about this show and if you want more, hunt down the MLIVE blog from the Detroit Jazz Fest. As impressed as I was with the music, I was JUST as impressed with the Detroit audience, who gave a roaring standing ovation at the end of the show.
Monday was short. We were exhausted and needed to return home to get ready for another busy week of work, but not before catching Rodney Whitaker’s salute to Donald Byrd’s A New Perspective. His wife, Cookie, was leading a gospel choir that offset the terrific line up of Mack Avenue talent. A wonderful way to end a perfect weekend of music.

Here is the line up for the end of the 2009’s Vinyl Side of Midnight

10/18/09 = DECADES: 1960s
1025/09 = New Stuff
11/01/09 = DECADES: 1970s
11/08/09 = New Stuff
11/15/09 = DECADES: 1980s
11/22/09 = DECADES: 1990s
11/29/09 = New Stuff
12/06/09 = Best of 2009 Pt. 1
12/13/09 = DECADES: 2000s
12/20/09 = Holiday Show
12/27/09 = Best of 2009

This is a very busy season!

From June 20th-27th I will be attending (and co-coordinating) the Peninsula Writers summer retreat at Glen Lake in northern Michigan. This will be the fifth time I’ve attended this conference and each year has been a little different, but always wonderful. We have our largest group yet, 37 writers!

Our keynote speaker this year is Laura Kasischke. Laura is a novelist and poet extraordinaire. She has been highly celebrated, won numerous awards (most recently the Guggenheim for poetry!), two of her novels have been made into films and is a best seller in France. I’ve known Laura for, I think, over twenty years. I had known her for at least a couple of years before she showed me her poetry, before she’d even been published. It has been an honor to watch her career blossom. The very last time I saw her we were watching Allen Ginsberg perform Howl in Ann Arbor. I’m really looking forward to seeing her again and hearing her read and talk about her writing.

From July 8th-12th I will be traveling to Montreal to speak at the International Policy Governance Association Conference. I’ll be presenting my ideas an work with Board of Directors and businesses on the Solution Focused Process, a model that combines therapy and coaching techniques with the world of governing systems. I combine systemic, narrative and solution based models to address challenges and enhance strengths for organizations.

I’ll be introduced by my old business partner, Susan Siers Stratton Radwan.

The Montreal trip also happily coincides with the Montreal Jazz Festival!

For more information on the Montreal Conference, look here:

http://www.policygovernanceassociation.org/conference_09/sponsors.html

On July 16th-17th I will be teaching a course for the Michigan State University’s Summer Institute in Traverse City, Michigan. This is the first Summer Institute by MSU and is being done in conjunction with the efforts of Monkey Business Consulting as well as several other MSU instructors. I’ll be teaching a two day workshop on weaving Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive Behavioral Therapies into your clinical work. This workshop is designed for people in the helping professions but would probably be of interest to anyone interested in the science of change. I always do this workshop in a manner that leaves audiences touched, moved and inspired. Really looking forward to it. I’ll follow up with a book signing at Horizon book store in Traverse City on July 18th at 3p.m.

For more information on the MSU Summer Institute, look here:

http://socialwork.msu.edu/ceu/glsi.html

So thank you all for buying and reading the book. I have had some amazing feedback from many of you and I am deeply touched at much of what you’ve shared. Some people are actually making profound changes in their lives as the result of reading this book. I’m glad it is making a difference and giving some people the courage to change. I’d go into more detail, but that would be giving away some of the fun of reading.

I’d also like to formally apologize to Lansing readers for all the lost sleep, the crazy dreams, the tears that some of you have experienced as the result of reading Everybody Dreams. Just kidding. I love it!

On Friday (4/24/09) I’ll be delivering the keynote Friday for the Wise Woman Program (Michigan Breast & Cervical Cancer Control) at the Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City. My topic is Motivation & Beyond, and will be focused on how to access the healthiest parts of our selves in order to do the work to help others gain access to their own motivation to change. I’ve worked with this group before, delivering a two day training last spring. It was the only time in my career that I received completely unanimous 5 star ratings (on a scale to 5, you smarties!). So we have some history and some chemistry.

Thanks for looking at the web site. Feel free to send me a note or feedback on what you’d like to see.

1) There is another book signing at Schuler Books at the Lansing Eastwood Towne Center Mall on March 23rd at 7p.m. The last book signing at Everybody Reads had 85 attendees! I’m amazed and flattered over the response the book is getting. At this reading/signing someone from CMU public radio will be recording the proceedings!

2) Two more radio interviews on 3/23: Check out WJIM (1240 am) at 8:50 a.m. for an appearance on the Michael Patrick Show, and then WLNZ (89.7 fm) at 9:30 a.m. for an appearance on the Coffee Break Show.

3) Ray Walsh has a review of the book in this week’s Lansing State Journal, Sunday edition.

I’ve been receiving so much good word of mouth about the book, so many positive remarks. I’m sorry the book has made so many of you cry (NOT!!)

I’m still walking on air from last week’s round of interviews and the book signing at Everybody Reads. There are so many people I need to thank: Tim Baron, Bill Castanier, Lawrence Cosentino, Berl Schwartz, Dan Mulhern, Dawn Parker for the press and interviews. Thanks to Scott Harris for allowing me and 80+ readers in taking over his bookstore, Everybody Reads, on March 5th. Thanks to all of you who showed up, stopped by, bought a book, said hello… Thanks to the fabulous Blumer sisters who brought cake, veggies, cheese & crackers. Mary Blumer came from Chicago for the event! Ken Osmar flew all the way from Florida! I am humbled by how many of you believe in this book. As I said at the reading, this is OUR book. Thanks so much!

I am just starting to get feedback from readers, and, dare I say, fan mail? I’ve heard from three people how they stayed up late at night/early in the morning to finish the book. I’m very pleased, because that was exactly my intent. I wanted to write a page turner that was hard to put down.

If you missed this signing, the next one is scheduled at Schuler Books, Eastwood Mall at 7p.m. The store is already carrying the book. And, as usual, you can purchase the book right here on this web-site. Or Amazon.com.

This next week:

I’m getting ready for Sophie Millman’s concert at the Wharton Center on March 19th. Some of you remember her performance at the East Lansing Summer Jazz Festival, singing with the Professors of Jazz. This time she is bringing her own band. I’ll be giving the pre-concert lecture, so stop by and say ‘hi’. The Vinyl Side of Midnight this week will focus on several tracks by Sophie, along with a mix of new music and classic female vocals.

After this is all done, I’m looking forward to going to see The Watchmen with Cathie, my favorite movie goer.

This new book is a mystery. I’m almost embarassed to say that I scared myself in the last scene I wrote. A member of my writing group asked, “How can you possibly scare yourself?” I think I’ll read her this scene and see what she says.

Meanwhile I just got a call from my sister Gail who told me about the wonderful buzz she’s hearing from Everybody Dreams. She says people are loving it and many more are wanting to buy it. If you can hold off for a week, PLEASE come to one of my signings. I’d love to meet you and sign your book for you. The next copy of the book will be edited to contain reviews, so books purchased now may become collector’s items.

For info on purchasing books, scan below for my instructions.

Stay warm.

Notes on Friday the 13th:

This has been an amazing week. My novel, Everybody Dreams, is available on amazon.com and I received a shipment of several hundred to begin selling and distributing to local bookstores.

The first question I’m asked most often is: How can I buy it? 

1) You can click on the title above and it will take you immediately to amazon.com for purchase. 

2) You can wait for one of the book signings. At this point I have a ‘kick off’ at Everybody Reads (which has long hosted our Peninsula Writers local writing group) on Thursday, March 5th from 6:30 (reception) to 9p.m. On Monday, March 23rd at 7p.m. I’ll be at Schuler’s Books at the Eastwood Mall. I am currently talking with Barnes & Noble in East Lansing to schedule an event there, which I’ll advertise here. 

3) Give me a call and pick up a copy at my office or catch me at another speaking engagement and purchase it from me personally.

My plan is to create ever widening circles of events, signings, etc. throughout Michigan, gradually expanding through the mid-west and beyond. My dream? Events and signings in Maui, Santa Fe, New York, Paris, London….

As of this writing, my book is within the top 12,000 sellers on amazon. That doesn’t sound like much, but I’ll keep you up to date.

Besides the book, Monkey Business Consulting is up and running. See our web-site at www.monkeybusinessconsulting.com. Tish Vincent and I have upcoming events within the month. I’ll be doing a Dream Workshop at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing on Friday, March 6, 9-noon. You can sign up for it by contacting Michigan State University’s School of Social Work department of Continuing Education (google it, it’s quick to find). The Monkeys are also involved in the very first MSU Summer Institute to be held in Traverse City in July! More on this in the near future.

And as for jazz? Still listening and planning new and improved versions of The Vinyl Side of Midnight. This week I’ll have Stevie Benge on the show. Stevie currently resides in Olympia, Washington, but used to live here in Lansing, MI. He was a student at L.C.C. and used to fill in for me when I was off. Later he did the same for Ed Love in Detroit, then went on to be a jazz programmer in at a station in Washington. Stevie also designed this web site for me. Pretty cool? We’ll talk all things jazz this week.

I will be updating this with regularity now, with an attempt to do some new writing weekly. So keep coming back!