The Improvised Life

Reflections on music, humanity, and the world we share.

I am expanding the scope of this blog.

For the past two years, I’ve written this blog primarily as a chronicle of my life in jazz — the music, the musicians, the road stories, the triumphs, the absurdities, and the unforgettable human moments that come from spending more than four decades making music for audiences all over the world.

That part will not change.

But over time, I’ve realized that what has interested many readers most deeply has not simply been the jazz itself. It has been the larger human experience surrounding it.

Music has merely been the vehicle.

At the age of 71, after thousands of performances, countless miles traveled, and a lifetime of observing people in every imaginable circumstance, I find myself wanting to widen the lens. Jazz remains at the center of my life, but the lessons drawn from it extend far beyond the bandstand.

This next phase of the blog will continue to include stories from the music world, but it will also explore the broader perspectives that a life in music has given me: observations about culture, aging, discipline, resilience, friendship, audiences, travel, different societies, changing values, human behavior, and the strange and fascinating ways people attempt to find meaning and connection.

Improvisation, after all, is not limited to music.

I learned about swing, humility, and goodness from Billy Higgins.

Every life is, in some sense, an improvisation. We make decisions in real time. We adapt to changing conditions. We learn to listen. We recover from mistakes. We search for a balance between individuality and cooperation. Jazz taught me those lessons long before I understood that they applied everywhere else.

Like Dizzy Gillespie, jazz has enabled me to grow in wisdom and gratitude as I reflect.

So while the subject matter may broaden, the spirit of this publication remains exactly the same: honest observation, curiosity about the world, respect for the complexity of people, and an enduring belief that experience still has something valuable to teach us.

I hope longtime readers will continue along for the ride, and I welcome new readers who may discover that even if they know little about jazz, they recognize the larger story underneath it.

Old trees have deep roots. - Chinese proverb.

You were born with two ears, but only one mouth, and that should tell you something. - Ruth Coolman, my Mother

TC