I love New Orleans. Have several poet friends living there, including Andrie Codrescu, Stan Rice (deceased) and Anne Rice, as well as my very good friend Simone DuVerne (deceased). 3 years ago

When I was in junior high school, a boyhood friend and fellow trumpet player and I were selected to take part in a live interview for the local school district’s community television program with legendary trumpeter, composer, arranger, and conductor Gerald Wilson. We talked melodies, syncopation, dedication and our love for music. We even belted out chromatic scales together. At the end of the session Mr. Wilson handed my buddy and I complimentary tickets to a scheduled performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the direction of conductor Zubin Mehta. That was back in the days when the Phil played at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. My mother drove and because we had never been downtown before we arrived way, way early. After more than 35 years I don’t remember a lot about the performance that evening but I’ll never forget as a 12-year old kid being mesmerized by Wilson’s playing, the sound of the orchestra filling every cranny of the concert hall and my mind. It was magic. 3 years ago