"Gospel Improv" releases!!

My newest collection of sacred jazz hymn arrangements has released! It's entitled "Gospel Improv," is published by Word, and has 12 different arrangements in it for solo piano.

I'm pleased with how they all turned out and I hope all you pianists out there will enjoy them as well. You can read all about it on Word's website and download "When We All Get to Heaven" for free from there.

What's so great about Wichita?

Wichita has something of an image problem—and the problem is, in my opinion, it really has no 'image' nationally to speak of. I travel a fair amount and when people ask me, "Where you from?" and I tell them, I usually get a blank stare followed by an awkward pause in response that lets me know 1) the person before me has likely never been to Wichita, or to Kansas for that matter, and 2) they don't know what to think because their only frame of reference for Kansas is the opening scenes of "The Wizard of Oz."

Now I will be the first to admit when I moved here 15 years ago, I thought I would be LONG gone by this time. (I was planning on 5 years, tops). But in my opinion, Wichita has a lot to offer.

For example, I'm presently enjoying coffee at a local bookstore/cafe (Watermark Books) about 3 blocks from my house. It's a small, independent store and I love the fact that 1) they have free wi-fi 2) I live so close. A couple doors down is "Jeanne's Cafe," a small diner that serves great breakfasts on the cheap. Across the street is a great little wood oven pizza place, "Il Vicino." And my daughter attends a public school with a long and proud history two blocks north of here.

These kinds of neighborhoods are fast disappearing across the US, but I love that Wichita still has them.

WiFi Wonders

I'm currently sitting at a Burger King in Fullerton, CA, checking email, surfing the web, and blogging via a free wireless connection. How would've guessed Burger King could be so cutting edge? But I guess this is California... and right down the street from the Cal-State Fullerton campus, which I also suspect may have something to do with it.

I've been in southern California for 10 days and I'm ready to head home to Kansas tomorrow ("There's no place like home...there's no place like home...there's no place like home..."). Missing my wife and kids somethin' fierce.

I've been out here accompanying gospel singer Earnest Alexander, and we've been at churches in Yorba Linda, Brea, and Fullerton. It's been fun. We've met some great people, and I got to visit some dear friends and even family (a road trip 'on the side' to Arizona to visit my parents) but I'm ready to head back.

Of course the weather's been incredible and all that. But I still think I may be most impressed that a Burger King would have free wifi access. I doubt I can expect the same from the BK's in Wichita anytime soon. But I guess one can always hope.