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I vividly remember the first time I ever consciously understood how inspiration functioned for me. I had been studying for 6 straight days. My eyes suffered the tunnel vision of sleep-deprivation and my body …

When I was 20 years old I, like generations of American college students before me, packed a suitcase and got on a plane for my junior year abroad in Paris. I had never been to …

As an oboe player, I have always had a chip on my shoulder about string players. Every time a concert “master” would strut onto stage, accepting the applause of the audience, only to turn …

This month, my desk was deluged with 56 new recordings of American music—pretty good output for an ailing record industry! What I found most remarkable about this month’s assemblage is that they are a …

A major turning point in my life came at age 9 when I saw the film version of West Side Story. I have since seen it over 50 times, mostly in the years immediately …

A composer friend of mine once joked that a lot more people would listen to his music if he threw in a drum track. This idea brought back painful memories of Hooked on Classics …

I heard an awful joke once, the details I have thankfully since forgotten. The punch line basically indicated that the only woman you would ever see as part of a jazz outfit would be …

Every time I see this one old friend of mine he asks the same question. “Mandy,” he says very earnestly. “Why do I like the music that I like?” Trained in math and physics …