This album is intended to serve as a sort of musical autobiography - a reflection on where I’ve been, where I currently am, and where I’m looking to head next. The compositions range from some of my first attempts at song writing to one that was finished a few days before the recording session. Likewise, the musicians in the band range from my mentors as an aspiring high school trumpeter to my most recent collaborators.

Each track on this album has a story behind it that I’d like to share with you.

1) “Going Places” - This composition dates back to 2013. At this time I was doing quite a bit of traveling for both musical and personal reasons. It’s meant to capture all of the emotions that travel and exploration evoke - excitement, nervousness, curiosity, unease, and countless others. On top of this, it was one of the first compositions that I was completely satisfied with upon its initial completion. No edits or alterations necessary here!

2) “Another Place, Another Time” - This composition dates from a time when a bout of Bell’s Palsy - a temporary facial paralysis - put an abrupt halt to my playing career. It generated a lot of cancelled gigs and intense stress, but in a way writing this tune served as a sort of therapy. It helped serve as a reminder that although things were bleak at the time, more opportunities were always going to be coming over the horizon.

3) “Bickering” - Think of this composition as a tribute to sibling rivalry. Although I myself don’t have any siblings, the dynamics of those relationships have always fascinated me. The interlocking trumpet and tenor sax lines are meant to represent the constant one-upmanship that seems to be inevitable among brothers and sisters. The vibes are meant to represent the poor soul who ends up stuck in the middle of it all.

4) “Spin” - When writing music, I typically start off with a title before anything else in order to have an idea of what I want the song to communicate. This is one of the exceptions to that rule. The opening vamp started repeating itself in my head one day, and the rest of the tune simply grew outward from there. The title is meant to refer to the cyclical nature of both the bass line and the melody as a whole.

5) “Inconspicuous” - This composition started out as a challenge I gave myself. I wanted to flip the traditional roles of song structure around by having the melody essentially playing the support role to the harmony, and this is the end result. Because of this, the tune itself is fairly simple, and sneakily weaves in and around the harmony rather than the other way around. It’s also just a lot of fun to play on, so there’s that too.

6) “Teleology” - In classical philosophy, teleology roughly means “purpose” or “direction toward a cause.” When writing this, I focused on making sure that each note of the melody led into the next one as carefully and deliberately as possible. The harmony and rhythm stay fairly static throughout, but the melody continues growing in complexity as things go on in order to create that sense of progress and development.

7) “Circumstantial Evidence” - It’s never a good idea to try to win an argument with vague information. The open-ended nature of this tune is meant to convey that idea. Listen in particular to the rhythmic underpinning of the melody to get this feeling. Although it is written as an alternating series of fast measures of 4/4 and 6/4, the groove largely shapes itself into a slow, somewhat hidden 5/4.

8) “Balance” - Over the past decade, my musical personality has developed three main identities - those of a performer, a composer, and an educator. Until recently, finding a way to get these three to work in consort as opposed to competing with one another has eluded me. This composition is meant to serve as a musical meditation on finally finding the sweet spot where these three forces converge.

9) “A Newfound Sense of Urgency” - Leading up to the recording session, I realized that I was one composition short of my intended number. With the deadline fast approaching and the pressure bearing down, this tune eventually just started to form itself. Its jittery, nervous melody and somewhat sour harmonic progression are meant to convey that looming sense of something closing in on you, as well as you needing to respond accordingly.

On behalf of myself and the gents in the band, I sincerely hope you enjoy “Going Places” as much as we enjoyed making it for you!