Be sure to stop back often since we're now planning a major site upgrade for EJDecker.com in the coming month or two. I hope it will prove interesting for you, and will provide us with the ability to keep things more up-to-date and timely. But know that we will keep the old-school, low-tech usability we currently have, so all those of you with slower or older machines can still partake.
There you'll find a few songs posted from While The City Sleeps..., comments from various folks and up-to-date info. There's also the collection of "friends," as everyone has. I've been stunned by the array of talent (in all genres) that I've stumbled across in the MySpace universe. There's some pretty amazing music to be had there. Great players; great voices. It would please me immensely if I knew you had found a wonderful artist or two whom you hadn't known before, by checking through my site.
So, stop on by! And leave your own "friend" request while you're there!
...'Cause a fella could always use another friend!
Ya know?
Here's an organization with which I am very proud to be involved.
The September Concert is a non-profit organization that commemorates the horror visited upon New York City on September 11, 2001 by placing free music from every genre in parks, shops, office buildings, clubs, government sites and restaurants across New York's five boroughs. It honors those we've lost; and it utilizes the unique properties of music to foster our ongoing healing process, both as musicians and as NYers. Lastly, it celebrates Life and our universal, shared Humanity.
All of that—in the simple act of playing a tune.
For The September Concert's fourth anniversary in 2005, I was honored to be asked to produce the event's first-ever jazz component. On very short notice, I had luck enough to assemble over 30 top NYC jazz musicians, who donated their time and talents over the course of a stunning 7-hour free concert in a packed restaurant on Columbus Avenue.
As a part of The September Concert, 2006, the westside of Manhattan again became the center of the jazz universe, as over 40 reknowned jazz artists convened to fill a 6-hour event, now subtitled The Heart Of Jazz, and filled the night sky with beautiful music.
By 2007, The September Concert: The Heart of Jazz had clearly outgrown a single restaurant, and needed to expand.
The 2007 edition grew into five venues around Manhattan with over 110 jazz notables signed up to play what that day means to them, "through their horn."
Venues consisted of The Sugar Bar, Creole, 5C Cafe, The Greenwich Village Bistro and an afternoon outdoor event, at Greeley Square at Sixth Ave. and 32nd St., which unfortunately was rained out.
Here is a partial list of the notables who played in 2006:
Piano: Tedd Firth, Malcolm Hunter, Les Kurtz, Ted Rosenthal, Lisa Sokolov, Joe Vincent Tranchina, James Weidman
Bass: Ratzo B. Harris, Ritt Henn, Steve LaSpina, Gene Perla, Lonnie Plaxico
Drums: Bill Goodwin, Sunny Jain, Eric McPherson, Peter Runnells, Yutaka Uchida
Guitars: Paul Meyers, Jeanfrancois Prins, Cecilia St. King, Nobuki Takamen, Lou Vega
Singers: Jay Clayton, E. J. Decker, Melissa Hamilton, Ritt Henn, Sheila Jordan, Yumi Kano, Judy Niemack, Anne Phillips, Cecilia St. King, Lisa Sokolov, Gabriele Tranchina
Sax: Claire Daly (baritone), Bob Kindred (tenor), Virginia Mayhew (tenor)
Trumpet: Bud Burridge
Flute: Jamie Baum
Violin: Karen Larson
Firth, Weidman, Harris, Henn, Runnells, St. King, Takamen, Vega, Decker, Hamilton, Phillips and Kindred were all participating in this amazing event for THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW!
The cap to the day was the arrival of Mark Murphy, who heard about the event on the very morning of the 11th and called to say he wanted to attend and be a part of things. Told things were very tightly scheduled and all slots were full, Mark wanted to come into town anyway to hang and be with us as we performed. Of course, we found a way to get him to the mic. Sheila Jordan gracefully shared her performance time, and she and Mark tore the roof off.
My deepest thanks to all of these artists who came, participated and gave of themselves so profoundly on this emotional night of music.
My thanks also to the wonderful folks at The Aegean Resaurant (cor. of W. 70th & Columbus in NYC, for you folks keeping score), especially manager Jimmy King, for opening their doors to us, as well as their hearts. They were fabulous to us the entire evening (remember, this place doesn't usually have music and had this show land on them!). So, if you're in the area, stop by there and enjoy a marvelous Greek dinner, and extend your thanks for their being a part of this event.
Also, thanks to all the folks at The September Concert for all their support and logistical help. We were there because of them, and they were there fully for us!
A truly amazing evening.
IAJE Update:
During the week of January 10-14, 2007, the 34th Annual International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) Conference returned once again to its emotional home, New York City. It was great to see old friends and to make new ones. And we all heard plenty of great music. My standout moment was the Charlie Haden concert on Saturday evening, following the news of the passing of two of his close friends: Michael Brecker and Alice Coltrane. A very emotional evening.
Here's a picture from last year's event. I'd be that tall guy you may have seen at the Jazz Vocal Coalition booth. I was then president of the New York Chapter.
[Susan Reeves (NC), E. J. Decker (NY), Cheryl Barnes (LA), Laurie Krauz (NY), Ellen Johnson (LA, JZVOC Natl. President)]
The Jazz Vocal Coalition (JZVOC)
The Jazz Vocal Coalition sadly is no more. For five years, it stood as the premier national organization dedicated to the professional advancement of vocal jazz performers and the promotion of the art of vocal jazz to the general public.
During its time, the Coalition was able to create a worldwide community of jazz singers, sharing knowledge and experience, recognizing outstanding achievements and encouraging the highest standards of professionalism, musicianship and artistry. Happily, we grew quickly and formed chapters across the country, followed by international growth.
Unfortunately, we ran into technical limitations in maintaining our adherence to federal not-for-profit regulations, and we were forced by statute to cease operation at a certain point and dissolve the organization.
This is truly a tragedy. The JZVOC is sadly missed by all those who love jazz singing.
NOTE: If you love jazz vocals, consider becoming involved in the cause of increasing the visibility of jazz singers here in New York. The need is still there. If you have an interest in becoming involved, please e-mail me at this site.
In any event, be sure to get out and have some fun, and hear some jazz vocals near you!
Annual Grammy® Award Update
Best Jazz Vocal Album
The 49th annual Grammy Awards / 2006:
The Winning Album: A recording released between October 1, 2005 through September 30, 2006, which will be announced this Sunday, February 11 at 8 p.m. in Los Angeles. (If you're a jazz person, and a member of the Music Academy, plan on attending the New York viewing party at the Hard Rock. Jazz is woefully underrepresented in NARAS, and we're trying to raise visibility there as well.)
The Winner: A Singer TBD
The 48th annual Grammy Awards / 2005:
Good Night, And Good Luck.
Dianne Reeves
The 47th annual Grammy Awards / 2004:
R.S.V.P. (Rare Songs, Very Personal)
Nancy Wilson
The 46th annual Grammy Awards / 2003:
A Little Moonlight
Dianne Reeves
The 45th annual Grammy Awards / 2002:
Live in Paris
Diana Krall
The 44th annual Grammy Awards / 2001:
The Calling
Dianne Reeves
The 43rd annual Grammy Awards /2000:
In The Moment: Live In Concert
Dianne Reeves
The 42nd annual Grammy Awards / 1999:
When I Look In Your Eyes
Diana Krall
The 41st annual Grammy Awards / 1998:
I Remember Miles
Shirley Horn
The 40th annual Grammy Awards / 1997:
Dear Ella
Dee Dee Bridgewater
Congratulations to these winners, all the nominees and to all of the artists whose work was entered in these years.
While the City Sleeps..., a contender in The 44th annual Grammy Awards.
Hear RealAudio clips from While the City Sleeps... Read the reviews! Purchase the CD!
See what Jazz Improv Magazine has said about While the City Sleeps...
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You can buy While the City Sleeps... at many fine outlets, including right on this site!
For (almost) daily political commentary on events that affect us all, look here!
There tend to be some pretty major gaps in what we normally see and hear from most news outlets.
Gotham Notes looks to fill these gaps by supplying some much-needed context and connections surrounding current news stories.
Most human actions are part of a larger series of events—not much on this planet happens in a total vacuum, as Karl Rove and most news sources would have you think. There's usually something leading up to it. Or some missing piece in the telling of it. And, always, someone looking to profit from it. That's what Gotham Notes will be looking at. Even if CNN isn't.
Our prayers are with everyone who lost loved ones, friends and colleagues in the attacks of September 11.
While the attacks of 2001 represented an emotional hit for every American, it must be remembered always that it was our town that was hit. Those lost souls in those towers were our spouses, children, parents, friends and lovers. For NYers—as it was for loved ones of those lost at the Pentagon and on the flights—this event was no icon. It remains visceral, and defines us. These were our family, friends and co-workers.
Normally, I would simply hope this site proves entertaining and informative about me, my music and new album, While the City Sleeps..., and our new record label, Candela Records.
But, as George W. Bush gleefully reminds us, the WTC attacks have changed everything, leaving us all different. And the indifference and callous disregard shown towards the target that is New York City by the Bush administration and its Homeland Security Dept., as it turns the nation's security dollars into sizeable slabs of political pork, will steel the resolve of every NYer.
Just as it has the population of New Orleans, the other great American city that the GOP has left to die.
I'll keep New York news and information here, with the odd personal dispatch from this greatest of cities (see links at the bottom of this page for the 9/11 dispatches).
While the City Sleeps... was created, pre-WTC, to glorify the city at night—with all its glory, sorrow, sex, creativity, hope, romance and joy. Now seems to be an appropriate time to reconnect with those aspects of the urban night—to defy politicians as they fight over what will emerge from the urn at the tip of Manhattan.
I received reports after the attacks, that some found a measure of solace in the title song of the album and in the album's overall feel during those awful days. As the folks of New Orleans can attest, the healing aspect of music is a strong river, and those of us in music are continually awed by its power. I would be honored if the unintended poignance this album has gained by these events helped anyone in any way.
Below, you'll see links to many of the sites which continue to be of value as we move forward from our earlier crises to fighting a different enemy—a home-grown, political one. If other appropriate sites appear, I'll add them as well.
Asociacion Tepeyac de New York—The type of social service agency you probably THOUGHT you were donating to after the attacks. Most Americans don't realize that a large percentage of those lost that day were immigrants, working in all the service jobs throughout the towers. I've visited Tepeyac's offices and have seen their work. These aren't professional "fundraisers." These are people of great heart who, since the attacks, have been making the difficult, hands-on effort to find funds to keep lower-income, immigrant families from being evicted, to keep them fed and, for those devastated by the attacks, to help them send the remains of their loved ones back to their home countries. If you still have any ability to donate at this point, please consider making this group your cause. This way, you're assured of getting full value for your charitable dollar.
American Red Cross—It took them a very long time to finally behave, and actually spend the huge sums of money that America donated for the 9/11 victims, but we'll list them anyway. To their credit, they did a noticeably better job in New Orleans.
The ASPCA—Pets set loose around the downtown area, or trapped or unattended, were major problems in the months after the attacks. These people did fabulous work. As they did in New Orleans, as well.
If you want to contact us, you'll see a Contact Info page on the Navigation Bar, and there's the Guestbook, as well. So either way, do please let me know what your thoughts are.
**This site is optimized for Internet Explorer 5.0+ and Safari 2.0.
I've specifically created this as a site that was Flash- and Java-free. A bit of old school coding in the night. Until I recently got a faster, stronger Mac, I knew the frustration of high-powered bells and whistles on people's web sites: very pretty when they worked, but which toss aside many folks who aren't ready to, or can't, upgrade to a stronger computer. So, I kept this site downsized for them. I'm sure those of you with monster machines will have patience with us. Thanks!
While The City Sleeps... is now available through our new e-commerce box on this site, through CDBaby.com (formerly a featured CD), and through other sites and stores.
Jazz Improv Review
- E. J. Decker / Jazz Improv Review
While the attacks of 2001 represented an emotional hit for every American, it must be remembered always that it was our town that was hit. Those lost souls in those towers were our spouses, children, parents, friends and lovers. For NYers—as it was for loved ones of those lost at the Pentagon and on the flights—this event was no icon. It remains visceral, and defines us. These were our family, friends and co-workers.