New Year. New Music. New Love.

It’s a New Year! Out with the old . . .in with the new. . . and ALL THAT JAZZ!

It’s time for some New Music and thank goodness I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT LOVE (and I like it!) - my new album - is dropping soon and I couldn’t be more excited.

This album epitomizes my New Love. A small selection of some of my favorite standards stripped down and played with some of my favorite musicians. It features four of the finest musicians and human beings with whom I have had the pleasure of knowing and collaborating, including leading pianist, composer, arranger, and music director, Tommy James; esteemed pianist, arranger, composer, humorist and beloved friend, Darin Clendenin; one of the West Coast’s premier string bass players, covert coffee roasters and friend, Ed Bennett; and creative inspiration, soulful love source and drummer extraordinaire, Todd Strait.

Among the tunes on I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT LOVE, only one is performed with a full quartet (“I Just Found out about Love”) and just one is performed with a trio (“Honeysuckle Rose”). The rest are intimate duos with my dear friends. Such as, “Miss Otis Regrets” with Mr. Clendenin; “Willow Weep for Me” with Mr. Bennett, and“Fascinating Rhythm” with Mr. Strait. And then, two tunes that foil one another nicely - “Solitude” and “When I Fall in Love,” are both performed with Mr. James.

I love this album for so many reasons, but primarily because it is a collection that represents a space and time for me of discovery, creation and courage manifested in music. For discerning listeners, this collaboration allows plenty of space and room for all of the music being made to be truly heard. And. For those of you who know me, you know that this type of connection is important to me.

Accordingly, the song selections, the choice of musicians and the format of this collection tell a story. My story. And. It’s rich.

I hope that you enjoy listening half as much as I have enjoyed creating and collaborating with these amazing musicians, my friends.

Tommy James

Tommy James majored in composition at the Manhattan School of Music and over the years has worked with countless outstanding artists and bands with whom he has performed and /or recorded including The Duke Ellington Orchestra, The Spinners, the Temptations and many more. He has served as music director with the international tour of the Tony-award winning musical “Bring in ‘da Noise” starring Savion Glover and has also been musical director for Dawnn Lewis, Doc Powell, Bobbi Humphrey, and others. Notably, Mr. James’ arrangements (some published by Warner Bros.) have been performed by the Ellington Orchestra, New York Pops, LA Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, New York’s The Supper Club, and during the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon.

Darin Clendenin

Darin Clendenin is well recognized as one of the Northwest’s finest pianist and keyboard artists. Fluent in numerous styles of music, his stylish interpretations of everything from old classics to jazz standards, from classical to modern works enchant audiences everywhere. His performances, as well as his arranging and composing talents, are sought after for their artistry as well as their magical innovative mix of styles.

Ed Bennett

Living in Portland, Oregon since 1990, Mr. Bennett’s work has taken him virtually everywhere in the world. He has worked with, toured internationally, or recorded with many legendary jazz figures, including: Dizzy Gillespie, Curtis Fuller, Terell Stafford, Claudio Roditi, Jeremy Pelt, Joe Henderson, Sonny Stitt, Benny Golson, Frank Morgan, Richie Cole, Pete Christlieb, Bud Shank, Charles McPherson, Hadley Caliman, Bobby Watson, Harry Allen, Pete Jolly, Don Abney, Joe Albany, Dave Frishberg, James Williams, Mike Wofford, Pete Malinverni, Bill Mays, Dick Berk, Lawrence Marable, Frank Butler, Gene Stone, Joey Baron, Chuck Redd, Carmen McRae, Jimmy Witherspoon, Anita O'Day, Nancy King, Ernistine Anderson, Marlena Shaw, Karrin Allyson, Mary Stallings, Dee Daniels, Bill Henderson, The Modernaires, Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabakin Big Band and the Gerald Wilson Orchestra.

Todd Strait

Todd began gigging in 7th grade, mainly with his father's group. During his last year of high school he became involved in the 1979 "Louie Bellson/Slingerland National Drum Contest" where he eventually finished in second place at the Las Vegas finals. The scholarships gained from this experience enabled Mr. Straiot to pursue his dream of moving to the NYC area and studing with Ed Soph in 1980.

Upon relocating to the east coast Todd free-lanced in and around NYC and the Tri-State area, then joined Marian McPartland's trio in 1982 playing in New York City clubs and traveling occasionally with her across the country. In 1984 he also began playing with guitarists Tal Farlow and Barney Kessel. In '86 he joined Woody Herman's Thundering Herd for a 3 month cross-country stint before returning to NYC.

1990 found Todd relocated to Kansas City where a string of important connections were born. Besides gigging in KC and St. Louis with local favorites and visiting "stars", Todd toured nationally and internationally with Kevin Mahogany from 1995 until 2000, with Karrin Allyson 1995 until 2009, and with Eldar from 1999 until 2008 (See the discography page for related recordings, 3 of which were Grammy Nominees).

In 2002 Todd relocated again, this time to Portland, OR. A typical year of travel consisted of between 200-250 days on the road (between tours with either Eldar or Karrin) so Todd was not around Portland much those first 7 and a half years. But in mid 2009 he finally decided to change gears and stay put for awhile.

Now he is enjoying being away from airplanes, producing his own projects (stay tuned for upcoming Bill Mays project scheduled to drop in the Spring/ Fall 2024) and playing with local greats such as Greg Goebel, Ed Bennett, Tom Wakeling, Dan Balmer, Christopher Woitach, Renato Caranto and Randy Porter, among many other wonderful musicians in Portland and Seattle.