Original music

Enjoy these original songs and instrumental tunes! Please let me know what you think, and if you’re interested in performing any of them.

You can hear 11 of these originals on my album “Making Up For Lost Time“, played by some of my favorite musicians in the Washington, DC area.

All of these compositions are published by Buffalo Bridge Music (ASCAP).

Thanksgiving With Uncle Rob (vocal, 2011): Dedicated to my uncle Rob, who is always so happy just to see the family together. Recorded in 2016, vocals by Aaron Myers

Hallmark Movie Marathon (vocal, 2023): collaboration with the fine lyricists David Graham and Vaughan Ray Daniel

Waiting For My Beach (vocal, 2022): The latest from my Groove Park project, a country beach party song with a climate change twist

Other originals

A Little Late (vocal, updated 2021): Updated the lyrics for this light ballad in memory of the great Dave Frishberg

Ain’t It The Truth (vocal, 2018): Keeping the faith with the facts, in response to some crazy comments we heard on the TV. Recording features Carolyn Malachi.

All I Ever Lost (vocal, 2017): Inspired by a story from Dani Stoller about a relationship gone wrong, leaving her sadder, wiser, and in need of a new home entertainment device. On the album Making Up For Lost Time.

Alternative Facts (instrumental, 2017): drawing inspiration from indignation at the Inauguration weekend antics of our new administration’s press people. Nominated for a Washington Area Music (Wammie) award for Best Jazz Song! On the album Making Up For Lost Time.

As Water Covers The Sea (instrumental, 2016): short ballad with a Biblical title (Isaiah 11:9)

An August Day In April (vocal, 2009): Inspired by a trip to Ithaca, NY during a particularly warm April. The title came from a friend we were visiting, On the album Making Up For Lost Time.

Are You Out Of Your Mind (vocal, 2014): a tribute to the legendary Sheila Jordan, who I had the privilege of studying with several years ago

At Sixty (vocal, 2023): musing on an important milestone

The Bar Where I Belong (vocal, 2014): dedicated to the Black Fox Lounge, my musical home in DC until it closed on January 1, 2015. On the album Making Up For Lost Time.

Bend Don’t Break (vocal, 2021): Taking inspiration from the palm trees of St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. The second Groove Park release, available on all digital channels.

Cleveland Park (vocal, 2011): my contribution to Jason Mendelson’s MetroSongs project, about a solid upper Northwest neighborhood on the Red Line with a strong sense of history. Recorded by Jason and me on MetroSongs Volume 3.

Crazy Weather Blues (vocal, 2019): An original blues with a climate change theme, composed for Jam Of The Week

December Light (instrumental, 2010): was going to be another Hanukkah song, but the melody was better than the lyrics

Don’t Get Mad Get Swinging (vocal, 2020): make music, not war. Honorable Mention award in the 38th Mid-Atlantic Song Contest (Vocal Jazz/Blues category)

Don’t Sleep On Me (vocal, 2020): Encouraging our artist colleagues to believe in themselves. Co-written and performed by Aaron Myers.

18th St Theme (instrumental, 2012, lyrics 2014): a theme for the DC Jazz Jam; an attempt to bring an Art Blakey vibe to this weekly DC jazz institution. We premiered the theme at the 3rd Anniversary jam on August 12, 2012.

Enjoy The Silence (vocal, 2022): A blues written for Jam Of The Week, about the joys of silence and the space between the notes.

Fall in Boston (instrumental, 2008): easy 3/4 jazz swing tune

For A Tree (Arbor Day) (vocal, 2015): another in a series of holiday songs for musically under-served holidays

Free Sailing (instrumental, 2021): A short bebop head that “sails” among several key centers

Friendship Heights (vocal, 2012): another MetroSong from me and Jason Mendelson, about shopping on the DC-Maryland line. Released on MetroSongs Volume 4.

Hanukkah Light (vocal, 2009): Trying to fill a need for quality American Hanukkah songs

Hey Iguana (vocal, 2022): An encounter with a local creature on St. Croix

I Believe In Rhubarb (vocal, 2008): my first song with lyrics, inspired by a conversation over lunch at the Vermont Jazz Center summer workshop

I Hate Onions (vocal, 2008): follow-up to “Rhubarb” about another highly contentious vegetable

If You Could Fly (vocal, 2022): Another love song about the urge to travel to wherever your love may want to go

In the Lounge (vocal, 2011): a moment in the life of a well-traveled business person. On the album Making Up For Lost Time.

Inside Too Long (vocal, 2020): It’s not you, it’s the pandemic

Island In the Sea (vocal, 2016 & 2021): A new R&B classic about getting away to an island paradise with the one you love. Released by my Groove Park project on YouTube and your favorite streaming services

Let’s Wander (vocal, 2018): Celebrating the pleasures of exploring your city with the one you love. A romantic tune with a DC vibe. Nominated for a Washington Area Music (Wammie) award for Best Jazz Song! On the album Making Up For Lost Time.

Mahidol Mood (instrumental, 2021): Reflecting on the DC Jazz Collective trip to Thailand in 2019. Commissioned by the DC Jazz Collective, under a grant from dcarts

Making Up For Lost Time (vocal, 2017): the story of my (musical) life. Title track of the album Making Up For Lost Time.

Minnesota Avenue (vocal, 2013): More MetroSongs, this one another collaboration with Jason Mendelson that loosely references the station in NE Washington it’s dedicated to. Released on MetroSongs Vol. 4

My Own Worst Enemy (vocal, 2023): Another original blues

Next Slide (vocal, 2022): An ode to the business presentation and the slides you make to accompany it

Nine Miles Wide (instrumental, 2003): The first tune I ever wrote, inspired by a challenge from my piano teacher. On the album Making Up For Lost Time.

No Ducks (vocal, 2023): inspired by a column by the advice writer Carolyn Hax

Nothing To Say (vocal, 2021): What do you write when you have nothing to write about? Vicki Golding added a lovely second verse to the song in 2022.

Old Men (vocal, 2023): Setting music to an uncharacteristically sad poem by Ogden Nash

On My Couch (vocal, 2022): Inspired by my wife (my muse) to write an ode to her favorite place in the house

Park Road Serenade (vocal, 2022, 2022): originally written as an instrumental. Vicki Golding added lyrics in 2022, a musical tribute to our former home street in DC

Pi Day (vocal, 2015): Composed on March 14, 2015 (3.14.15) in honor of that very special Pi Day (completed almost in time for the extra special Pi Second: 3.14.15.9:26:53)

Powerful Questions (vocal, 2022): Sparked by a concept I learned in an Agile Coaching training, a way to learn useful information and get people thinking

Sahara Dust (instrumental, 2020): music for a weather phenomenon, the Sahara Air Layer that brought hot weather and hazy skies to the Caribbean

Sanitizer (instrumental, 2020): Composed as a cool groove for the COVID mood. Now part of the repertoire of the Lucky So & Sos, released in September 2023.

Snow Day (vocal, 2014): composed during the seemingly endless winter of 2013-14 in the Washington, DC area

Snowfall (vocal, 2022): Musing on the beauty and peace of freshly-fallen snow

So Many Songs (vocal, 2022): Written for this year’s 50/90 challenge ar fawm.org. Grappling with the amount of new music in the world and the challenge of making your own voice heard

Stand Right (vocal, 2011): A guide to escalator etiquette on the DC Metro for locals and tourists alike. Featured on NPR and the Washington Post

Strange Fire (vocal, 2023): another song from the “Parsha Songs” project in progress, this one inspired by Parashat Shemini (Leviticus 9:1–11:47)

Sunday Night Blues (vocal, 2022): a musical cure for the “Sunday scaries”

Sunflower In The City (vocal, 2022): Life from the perspective of an urban flower

The Heart Says (vocal, 2015): a love song, about the heart, the head… and donuts! On the album Making Up For Lost Time.

Theme In Search Of A Jam (instrumental, 2015): following the successful “18th Street Theme,” here’s another bebop theme looking for a jam of its own

Three For Three (instrumental, 2012): a light jazz waltz

The Virus Doesn’t Care (vocal, 2020): But we should

What About Us (vocal, 2023): a song inspired by one of the weekly Torah portions in the Jewish tradition. Part of a larger project in progress

When The Morning Comes (vocal, 2016): an optimistic song about the promise of a new day. On the album Making Up For Lost Time.

Without You (vocal, 2016): a simple love song in a classic American Song Book style. On the album Making Up For Lost Time.

45 Seconds (vocal, 2014): Trying to tell a complete story in the time it takes for pedestrians to cross at the corner of 22nd and M Sts NW in Washington, DC