About a year ago I had the honor of doing an interview with the Vail Jazz Society. We discussed my current experiences as a performing artist, and the impact of being a participant in the Vail Jazz Student Workshop in 2003. This was the summer before my first year of college, now about 17 years ago. This camp was a unique and very challenging experience for me. I got in after winning an award at Essentially Ellington, and played my audition over the phone!
Never would I have imagined I'd have the chance to hang for a week with 12 incredible students from around the country, holed up in a room with John and Jeff Clayton, Lewis Nash, Terrill Stafford, and Bill Cunliffe. I was, to say the least way out of my element, nearly overwhelmed with anxiety, and felt like I was barely hanging in there around all these incredible players. But I did hang in there and did my best, and It was a life changing experience. I am so thankful I had that opportunity. Check out the interview here:
