Last month, a two year collaboration finally came to fruition. My long time friend and colleague, John Hadfield, a phenomenal drummer and percussionist reached out a few years back to do some dates with a French jazz artist he was working with – John currently resides in Paris. Within the time we were doing these Europe shows, we realized that our musical connection was fun and also deep, and that we had to do something about it. So, the idea for this duo project was started in the summer of 2023. It became a much bigger endeavor than we originally imagined, but I suppose that’s how things often go. The idea of piano and drums alone really doesn’t have any obvious tradition except maybe for through composed concert music. And in the realm of jazz, it’s not done too often, so this was the first challenge to explore. We wanted something that could tour easily, something sustainable and something that transcends the boundaries of genre. Our initial thought was to be solely improvisational. This was the simplest conceptual idea in terms of being ready for a performance NOW. So in order to get things started, we’d need to get together in a studio so we could figure out what our sound would be and forge a sonic identity. We both arrive to this project with diverse musical influences and points of study. John holds graduate degrees in western classical percussion, and also has spent many years studying with masters of Gamelan in Indonesia, Carnatic Music in India and Gnawa and Berber music in North Africa. He has graced many prestigious stages performing with orchestras as well as playing in groups with progressive jazz musicians such as Brad Shepik and Ron Blake. My foundations are in modern jazz but I also…