Vocalist Gregory Porter, who has been lauded by Wynton Marsalis as "a fantastic young singer," will celebrate the release of his Motema Music debut CD, Water, at Smoke Jazz Club this Monday, May 3.
Water will be released on May 11. Although it his Porter's debut, Water flows with a sense of timelessness that reflects the seasoned talents of the giants of blues, gospel and soul that have influenced Porter throughout his career. Some of the singers that Porter cites as influential are familiar - Nat King Cole, Joe Williams and Donny Hathaway - and others - such as the pastor of the church he attended as a child among them - may never realize their impact on his development as an artist. While the work of singers such as Hathaway or Cole obviously helped to shape Porter's vocal styling, his own world view, as evidenced in his seven original compositions and his striking interpretation of classic songs such as "But Beautiful" and "Skylark," adds an emotional intensity that makes each of the CD's eleven tracks speak so eloquently.
For the recording, Porter tapped a powerful cadre of strong players, among them the iconic alto sax player James Spaulding (Max Roach, Freddie Hubbard, and Bobby Hutcherson, et al) who plays a featured role on two tracks: "Wisdom" and "Black Nile."
Performing with Porter at Smoke will be several of the same musicians who joined him on the CD, including Spaulding, pianist Chip Crawford, drummer Emanuel Harold, Yoske Sato on alto sax, and Aaron James on bass. For the show at Smoke, Andre Merchison will perform on trumpet, with other special guests also slated to perform.
Immediately following the May 11 release of Water, Porter will head to Chicago for a month long run at the Northlight Theatre, starring in the world premier of "Low Down Dirty Blues." The show will run from May 27 through July 3. Visit www.northlight.org for more information.
Critically Acclaimed Vocalist Celebrates CD's Release At Smoke in NYC May 3 and Stars in "Low Down Dirty Blues" in Chicago from May 27 - July 3
With a voice that can caress or confront, embrace or exhort, Gregory Porter exhibits such an incredible degree of vocal mastery that no less a jazz luminary than Wynton Marsalis has gone on record to call him "a fantastic young singer," which makes the fact that Water (out on May 11 from Motema Music) is his recording debut even more impressive.
A debut release it may be, yet Water flows with a sense of timelessness that reflects the seasoned talents of the giants of blues, gospel and soul that have influenced Porter throughout his career.Some of the singers that Porter cites as influential are familiar - Nat King Cole, Joe Williams and Donny Hathaway - and others – such as the pastor of the church he attended as a child among them - may never realize their impact on his development as an artist.While the work of singers such as Hathaway or Cole obviously helped to shape Porter’s vocal styling, his own world view, as evidenced in his seven original compositions and his striking interpretation of classic songs such as "But Beautiful" and "Skylark," adds an emotional intensity that makes each of the CD's eleven tracks speak so eloquently.
For the recording, Porter tapped a powerful cadre of strong players, among them the iconic alto sax player James Spaulding (Max Roach, Freddie Hubbard, and Bobby Hutcherson, et al)who plays a featured role on two tracks: “Wisdom” and “Black Nile.”The CD was produced by saxophonist, pianist and composer Kamau Kenyatta, who Porter refers to as his "best friend."
In fact, it is Kenyatta who bears much of the responsibility for Porter's career trajectory, which can be traced back to Porter's early days singing in small jazz clubs in San Diego. He lived there while at San DiegoStateUniversity which he attended on a football scholarship, as an outside linebacker, until a shoulder injury sidelined him permanently. Recognizing his talents, Kenyatta - along with saxophonist Daniel Jackson (Ray Charles, Buddy Rich, Art Farmer and more) - nurtured the burgeoning performer, and, as Porter says, "taught him what he needed to know."
Kenyatta invited Porter to visit him in the studio in Los Angeles, where he was producing the flutist Hubert Laws' Remembers the Unforgettable Nat King Cole.Certainly Kenyatta was aware of Porter's childhood infatuation with Cole's music, and certainly he could hear the echoes of Cole's mellow baritone in Porter's own voice.What he could not have predicted was that when Laws heard Porter singing along when he was tracking the Charlie Chaplin-penned "Smile," the flutist would be so impressed with the young singer that he would choose to include a 'bonus' track of Porter singing the song on the album.
Just as serendipitous was Laws' sister, Eloise's, presence that day in the studio.A highly respected singer and recording artist in her own right, Eloise was about to join the cast of a new musical theater work, "It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues."Although he'd only had minimal theatrical experience to that point (in the Doo Wop musical "Avenue X"), Porter eventually was cast inone of eight lead roles when the play opened in Colorado at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, and eventually followed it to Off-Broadway and then Broadway theater, where the NY Times, in its 1999 rave review, mentioned Porter among the show's "powerhouse line up of singer.”"It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues" went on to earn both Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations that year.
Although he now says, "I never felt that my career was going to be strictly in the theater," Porter's success on stage with "It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues" paved the way for another theatrical outing and pairing with Eloise Laws. In his semi-autobiographical "Nat King Cole and Me," he dramatically documented his childhood, which was marked by an absentee father and the joy and pain he heard when listening to his mother's Nat King Cole records. Apparently, one day, when his mother heard her young son singing along, she remarked that he sounded like Cole.This led to a rich imaginary life where the young Porter actually believed that the legendary crooner was indeed his dad, and that the love songs Cole sang were secretly being sung to him.Porter’s moving “Nat King Cole & Me” ran for two very successful months at the DenverCenter for the Performing Arts and has since travelled to Houston, TX (without Porter's involvement.)
The intimacy of Porter’s "Nat King Cole and Me," revealed a courageous thespian, who bravely shared his life story with his audience, so it's hardly surprising that many of the songs on Water come also from an emotional place.The CD opens with the ruminative "Illusion," an exquisite duet between Porter and pianist Chip Crawford, which the singer says was inspired by the pain that will accompany every relationship at one time or another. The song ends with Porter exhaling a quiet sigh - whether it's one of resignation or acceptance depends, he says, on perspective."Love makes us all crazy," he says. "Pretty," a soulful tribute to a woman from Porter's past, is an understated ensemble piece that is bolstered by the alto sax work of Yoske Sato.
"I love coffee," says Porter, "and 'Magic Cup' was written for a beautiful friend who works at my favorite coffee shop."Percolating with a smooth energy heightened by frenetic sax breaks courtesy of Sato, the song is as rich as a morning cup of French roast.Porter's effluent baritone does the Hoagie Carmichael/Johnny Mercer standard,"Skylark," more than justice, while his rendition of Wayne Shorter's "Black Nile"continues to emphasize the theme of water that runs throughout the CD and features veteran sax player James Spaulding.
Porter contributed the lyrics to "Wisdom," the melody of which was written by one of his mentors, Daniel Jackson.Spaulding's saxophone lends a haunting air to the song, which, Porter says in retrospect could very well be about post-Katrina New Orleans. Emphasizing his gospel roots with lyrics that echo the traditional biblical song "Wade in the Water," Porter metaphorically positions water as an impediment, and wisdom as the means to overcome it.Water's most overly political song is "1960 What?," inspired in part by Kamau Kenyatta's stories of life in Detroit and by the 1963 assassination of Martin Luther King, as well as by his own experiences growing up in Los Angeles.
"I've always loved ballads, and'But Beautiful' is one of my favorites," says Porter of the standard, on which his vocals and Chip Crawford's piano share center stage.The mournful "Lonely One" paints a lyrical picture of a tragic love story, while the CD's title track reiterates the artist's use of water as metaphor for redemption, cleansing, history and survival.Water's coda is a raw yet soulful Mahalia Jackson-influenced a cappella version of the classic "Feeling Good."
Born in Los Angeles, raised in Bakersfield, and now living in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, Gregory Porter has made the world his musical home.A frequent guest performer with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Porter also maintains a long-standing residency at Harlem's venerable St. Nick's Pub, and performs internationally."I've been to Russia about 17 times," says Porter."I now can make a mean borscht."
Immediately following the May 11 release of Water, Porter will once again return to the stage for a month long run at the Chicago area Northlight Theatre, starring in the world premier of "Low Down Dirty Blues."He'll celebrate the release of Water with a CD release concert at New York's Smoke on May 3, before heading to Chicago for the show's May 27 opening. Visit www.northlight.org for more information.
Bios, photos available at www.motema.com, or contact cary@gomediapr.com.
Music industry veteran Steve Belkin has been named as General Manager of the Aliso Viejo, California-based label Innervision Records and Entertainment, as announced by label VP of A&R and Promotion, Adam Leibovitz.
Belkin brings some three decades of experience in all areas of the music business to the GM post, including work in marketing, sales and distribution and artist management. A musician and songwriter in his own right, Belkin will continue to operate Open All Nite Entertainment, his management, marketing and label consultancy based in Los Angeles, and remains a partner in his company, Left Coast Music Group. Through his companies Belkin has worked with a wide variety of artists, including The Tubes, Narada Michael Walden, Craig Chaquico, Grant Geissman, Ray Parker Jr., Chris Standring, Gaelic Storm and Walela featuring Rita Coolidge, Priscilla Coolidge and Laura Satterfield.
"I've worked with Steve, as well as with many of the artists he's represented, for a number of years," states Leibovitz. "His combination of focus, enthusiasm and honesty coupled with the artistic understanding that only someone who's been on the creative side of the business can bring to running a successful label, made my decision to bring him on board an easy one."
Innervision Records was founded in the 1990s, and has evolved to become an exemplar of the new face of indie label jazz. With a special focus on balancing the advantages of experience with the ability to adapt to the constantly evolving music industry, Innervision is revolutionizing the artist-label relationship.
"Among the factors that most impressed me about Innervision was Adam's commitment to total transparency," says Belkin. "They really work so the artists on the label are always completely aware of everything that is going on."
Innervision specializes in groove/smooth jazz, straight-ahead jazz, chill , neo-soul and world music, and has released CDs from both established and emerging artists in those genres. The label is distributed by IDC.
For additional information, visit www.innervisionrecords.com
Ancient Harp Brought Back to Life On New CD, Which Will Be Released on March 9th
She plays an ancient harp invented nearly 4000 years ago in Mesopotamia. Variously named "angular harp," "chang," "kunghou," and "kugo," the instrument on which Tomoko Sugawara performs can be seen in centuries-old Buddhist cave paintings and in artists' depictions from countries along the trade route known as the Silk Road. On March 9th, the classically trained harpist will release her Motema debut, Along the Silk Road, which brings the enchanting music of this historically revered instrument to life once again for the world to hear.
The unique kugo harp on which Sugawara performs is a twenty-first century reconstruction of an angular harp which is pictured on a reliquary box painted during the sixth or seventh century BC. The angular harp disappeared from the world stage some 300 years ago, was only evidenced in paintings from antiquity until Sugawara and her partner, music archaeologist Bo Lawrengren, brought plans for a reconstruction to luthiers Bill and Catherine Campbell, who worked closely with the pair to faithfully recreate a modern rendition that would honor the essence of an instrument that was revered for centuries.
In Buddhist lore, the angular harp was considered one of the glories of paradise, with a sound both celestial and refined. Sugawara's Along the Silk Road reveals these glories; her music is deeply emotional and expressive, interweaving meticulously transcribed historical compositions from the regions where the harp once flourished - Tang Dynasty China and 13th century Iran and Spain - with modern works especially for Kugo as commissioned from noted composers from Japan, Iran and the United States. The traditional compositions on the CD include a medieval Persian Qawl, and two sacred Cantigas, written by King Alfonso X of Spain. The two selections based on the music of China's Tang Dynasty have been expanded and enhanced by the two-time Fulbright scholar and Bearns Prize winning composer Stephen Dydo.
The contemporary composers who have contributed compositions to Along the Silk Road bring forward the cross-cultural heritage of this instrument to the present day. Compositions are included from the Italian-born (and now Chicago-based) Robert Lombardo, Japanese Kikuko Masumoto, and Iranian Amir Mahyar Tafreshipour.
This unique release introduces a new World Music series on Motema Music, known mostly for its releases by noted jazz composer/performers. Label president Jana Herzen explains that she discovered Tomoko and Bo performing at the Rubin Museum of Asian Art. "I was thoroughly enchanted by Tomoko's presence and the delicate sound of the harp. Bo's stories were also so very charming. I asked for a CD, but they didn't have one. So we decided then and there to collaborate on a release."
Engineer Jay Mark, who has worked with such legendary artists as the Allman Brothers and Eric Clapton, and noted NYC mastering engineer Allan Tucker of Foothill Digital added a sonic sheen to the recording of the CD. The CD package also features a beautifully illustrated booklet with historical notes and illustrations by Bo Lawergren.
Born in Tokyo, Tomoko Sugawara began to play the Irish harp at age twelve and the grand harp at sixteen. A graduate of TokyoUniversity with a degree in Fine Arts, Sugawara first took up the kugo in 1994. She has performed on both the concert harp and kugo in many major international venues, including the World Harp Congresses in Prague and Amsterdam; MeijiUniversity, The New York Qin Society, the Fifth Symposium for Music Archaeology, and at Berlin, Columbia, Princeton and HarvardUniversities. She was awarded a fellowship from the Asian Cultural Council during 2007 - 2008, and a grant from the Rohm Music Foundation in 2007. Along the Silk Road is Sugawara's third recording. Her first, Spring, features her work as a soloist on the concert harp and her second, East Meets West (1998,) was an improvisational duo collaboration with saxophonist Sanshiro Fujimoto. A musician with a taste for adventures in all styles, Ms. Sugawara recently performed in the ensemble of jazz bass legend Charnett Moffett for his upcoming Motema release, Treasure. (May 2010) Ms. Sugawara will support the release of Along The Silk Road with solo performances as well as in duo and trio configurations with the musicians on the record, the world famous flautist, Robert Dick and Turkish hand drum master and ethno musicologist, Ozan Aksoy. Alone or in ensemble, Ms. Sugawara and her Kugo provide an enchanting, meditative excursion through many cultures, moods and ages. Her partner and manager, music archeologist Bo Lawergren augments her performances with amusing anecdotes and painted illustrations of the Kugo from various historical contexts.
Visit www.motema.com/artist/tomoko-sugawara or www.kugoharp.com for more information.
Motema Music Recording Artist Also Wins Independent Music Award for Kelenia as "Best World Beat" CD
Oran Etkin, the Israeli-born, New York-based clarinetist whose 2009 Motema Music release, Kelenia, was hailed by the New York Times as "ebullient," and by the All Music Guide as setting "a new standard for world music in the decade of the 2000's," has much to celebrate in the new year.
Last week, his critically acclaimed debut recording, Kelenia, was awarded the Independent Music Award for "Best World Beat" CD. The IMA winners, culled from thousands of submissions from around the globe, were determined by a panel of 80 influential artists and industry pros including Tom Waits, Aimee Mann, Suzanne Vega, Bettye LaVette, and Judy Collins. Music fans have until June 25 to champion their favorite Nominees at The IMA Vox Pop Jukebox to determine The 9th Independent Music Awards 'People's Voice' Winners.
Etkin's next release, Wake Up, Clarinet, is a jazz recording for children and will be released this spring. One track, "Little Lamb Jam," will be featured on Putumayo Kids' March 9 release, Jazz Playground, a multicultural CD which celebrates the vibrant diversity and global influence of jazz.
Jazz Playground demonstrates how artists in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania have adopted jazz and made it their own. Featuring a new, colorful storybook-style booklet and glossary of musical terms, Jazz Playground pairs sophisticated sounds with kid-friendly lyrics. Etkin enlisted fellow Broolynite Charanee Wade to contribute vocals on "Little Lamb Jam."
To promote the release of Jazz Playground, Etkin will perform at two of the venues on a select concert tour, on February 28 at the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia, and on March 13, at the Scholastic Auditorium in downtown Manhattan.
For more information about Jazz Playground, visit Putumayo Kids.
Working with children is hardly unusual for the thirty year old Etkin. For several years, he has been giving back what he was given musically with a groundbreaking new educational method, offering classes to children ranging in age from 18 months to six years throughout New York. His educational approach has led Etkin to record his own CD, Wake Up Clarinet!, which will be released later in 2010. More information on his unique teaching style can be found on the Kids page of his website.
Oran Ektin has been described as a "great clarinet player" and "an excellent improviser" by the New York Times' jazz critic Ben Ratliff and a "woodwind maestro" by PRI's internationally syndicated show, Afropop Worldwide. He has performed around the world with musicians ranging from jazz guitarist Mike Stern to rapper Wyclef Jean. His latest album, Kelenia (Motema Music), fuses traditional Malian and Jewish music with modern jazz creating what the Boston Globe dubbed a "hypnotic balance between straight-ahead jazz and world music". The CD features Oran's working group with Malian griot musicians Balla Kouyate, Makane Kouyate and bassist Joe Sanders as well as guests including vocalist Abdoulaye Diabate, Grammy Award winning artists Lionel Loueke and John Benitez, and even a string quartet on one track. The resulting sound is a reflection of Oran's musical personality rooted in jazz but shaped by the many musical worlds that Oran is a part of in New York, including African, Jewish, Haitian and New Orleans music. Even before its release, Kelenia debuted at # 10 on the nationwide radio charts and All Music Guide has declared that Oran "sets a new standard for world music in the decade of the 2000s".
Oran built his foundations studying with George Garzone starting at age 14 and later with Yusef Lateef. He studied classical clarinet and composition as an undergraduate and received a Masters in Jazz Performance at the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Dave Liebman and Dave Krakauer among others.
Oran continues the tradition of music education as a faculty member of the Brooklyn Conservatory and through the unique new method that he developed for teaching music to 2-6 year olds that has been implemented with over 500 young students in New York. Oran is in the process of adapting this method into a set of children's books and writing a book for adults on how children learn music.
Oran's upcoming concerts:
February 28- Philadelphia, PA Please Touch Museum Junior Jazz Concert Series 1 pm & 3 pm 4231 Avenue of the Republic www.pleasetouchmuseum.org Free w/ museum admission
March 12 - Brooklyn, NY Barbes 376 9th 8 PM (Performing music from Kelenia) http://www.barbesbrooklyn.com/ March 13- New York, NY Scholastic Auditorium 11am & 1pm 557 Broadway www.scholastic.com/sohostore Free- Reservations required
"Groove jazz" Saxophonist's Second CD, Produced by Jeff Lorber and Jimmy Haslip, Will Be Released on February 16
Expanding upon the explosive energy, compelling melodies, and stylistic diversity of his previous critically acclaimed album Traveler, Norwegian-born and now LA-based saxophonist Terje Lie (“Terry Lee”) is taking a joyful Urban Vacation. Lie's second CD pairs him with contemporary jazz luminaries Jimmy Haslip and Jeff Lorber, and further defines his unique musical vibe best described as “groove jazz.” The CD, which is being released on TCat Records, is slated for release on February 16.
Beyond the colorful reworking of Roy Ayers’ “Red Black And Green,” on Urban Vacation the three have collaborated to create a rich and fascinating set of nine originals. Lie and Lorber, one of the most renowned artists and producers in contemporary jazz and R&B, co-wrote three tracks (“Bail Out,” “Blue Funk,” and “Coral Dream”) while Lorber and Haslip, founding bassist of the multiple Grammy-winning jazz fusion band Yellowjackets, co-penned five tracks (“Crazy Groove,” “Dance On The Water,” “Sedona,” “So Retro,” and “Parlophone”.) Lie’s lilting, romantic solo composition, “Tonight,” eloquently concludes the new collection.
Beyond the core presence of Lie on soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones, Lorber performs on both electronic keyboards and guitar; Haslip on electric bass. Tony Moore, who has recorded with Lorber, the Jazz Crusaders and Norman Connors, takes charge on drums. Urban Vacation also features guest appearances by guitarists Mike Landau (Barry Manilow, Tom Scott) and Dwight Sills (Kirk Whalum, Anita Baker, Rick Braun;) bassist Ernest Tibbs and drummer Jeff Olson (who both joined Lie on Traveler;), vocalist Sharon Perry, and the sizzling Lorber-arranged horn section of Ron King (trumpet) and Gary Meek (sax).
Saxophonist Terje Lie began his musical career while still in high school in Norway as the lead vocalist of a blues/rock band, appearing on Norwegian television at only seventeen years of age. Later, he became a part of that country’s scene of young rising jazz artists, featured as both a singer and saxophonist. Lie toured Norway, Sweden, and Finland with different groups and appeared on the jazz shows of NRK, the Norwegian equivalent of the BBC. He was also a recipient of a grant from the Norwegian State Fund for Performing Artists.
Lie made the decision to move to the U.S. because his favorite styles of music “were being created in this country 24/7 everywhere.” Loving the Southern California climate and being “a certified beach bum,” he chose L.A. as his new base. Since relocating to L.A.'s South Bay area, he has honed his craft, performing in clubs and at festivals and concerts all over the West Coast.
Lie holds a degree in music education as well as a Master of Music degree. He is active in music education and as a clinician and when time allows, he also donates time to children’s music programs.
Terje says, “Seeing how much work Jimmy (Haslip) and Jeff (Lorber) put into Urban Vacation has definitely inspired me to expect even more from myself as a composer, musician, and performer. It’s great to have the opportunity now to share that with more fans than ever before.” And he continues, “Jeff and Jimmy enlightened me to many new angles and concepts that made this a fantastic experience for me. It’s been a great experience to record with them and the result is a seriously kickin’ album!”
Boy meets clarinet. Boy falls head over heels for clarinet. Boy spends every available minute with clarinet. But then the fast life, drugs and alcohol, slowly seduces, then pries the boy from his true source of devotion. Early passions die. The clarinet is abandoned. Four decades pass. Finally, one day, the dreams of youth are resurrected and the clarinet, once again, takes center stage. This is Mort Weiss’ love story.
The culmination of that love affair can be heard on Weiss’ newest release, Raising the Bar (SMSJazz), which is slated for release on February 16th. All 17 tracks on the CD are imbued with heart and conveyed with honesty. As Weiss once said in an interview with About.com, “…nobody plays the clarinet like me, because I am not (just) in love with the clarinet. I’m in love with expressing an emotion which is the essence of any art form.” Samuel Chell of All About Jazz says this release is “clearly Mort’s best and up there with the all time best.”
Born in the mid 30s in Pennsylvania, Mort started taking clarinet lessons when he was nine. When he moved with his family to Los Angeles, he continued with classical music, and during his teens studied with the L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra’s esteemed clarinetist, Antonio Remondi. After graduation and a year at the Westlake School of Music, the precocious teenager soloed on several T.V. programs with the Freddie Martin Orchestra, a.k.a. “The Band of Tomorrow.”
Weiss’ acquaintance with jazz began with Dixieland. But when he first heard a Charlie Parker record, he was hooked. He frequented jazz clubs, participated in after-hours jam sessions, and practiced with fervor. Buddy DeFranco became his idol.
At the age of 19, Weiss was drafted and played tenor sax in the Army band. After discharge, and for the next ten years, with a dearth of work for jazz clarinetists, the sax became his bread and butter. His life became lounges, minor jazz clubs, and work in R&B bands.
Enter the 60s. Traveling in the fast lane became a rapid trip down the wrong speedway. Weiss eventually found himself in jail, buck naked, his life a “total shambles”, playing the “wrong” instrument to support a dead-end life style. He decided to “put everything down, including playing music.” His love affair with his horn was put on hiatus.
Unable to disassociate himself from music completely, Weiss began working at a music store. He eventually became District Manager for the company’s chain, and in 14 years opened his own store, The Sheet Music Shoppe, in Santa Ana. Under Weiss’ direction it has grown into the largest purveyor of printed music in Southern California.
In the summer of 2001, Weiss read an advertising flyer that asked “Do You Want To Play Jazz?” The timing was perfect. It was enough to make him dust off his clarinet case, begin practicing, and soon invite guitarist Ron Escheté to jam. Their collaboration led to a recording session that became the 2 CD set, No Place to Hide, the first release of Weiss’ own, newly created SMSJazz label.
Between 2003 and 2008, SMSJazz produced six more CDs featuring Weiss and talented musicians such as Joey DeFrancisco, Ramon Banda, Dave Carpenter, Roy McCurdy, Luther Hughes, and Sam Most.
Weiss’ latest release, Raising the Bar, is a rare treat-a solo jazz clarinet album. The CD is comprised of both standards and originals. In addition to familiar tunes such as “Alfie,” “As Time Goes By,” “Smile,” and “It Might As Well Be Spring,” Weiss plays “Dear Old Stockholm,” a Swedish folk song, and also presents three originals that include “Blues for Håken,” a tribute to his son-in-law Håken Rosengren, a noted classical clarinetist. Given Weiss’ relationship with the clarinet and his musical journey through life, it is totally appropriate that he chose to close with the one tune that for him says it all-“My Way.”
