MUSICIAN ARTS JOURNALIST OPINION COLUMNIST
TALK-SHOW HOST EDUCATOR
exchanges of ideas
Beecue@sbcglobal.net
(812) 372-6018
MySpace page
Audio Clips
Calendar
Writing Clips
Some of the Republic columns
least likely to embroil me in
controversy, plus a link to my
collection of Suite 101.com
articles on R&B history, plus a
link to some magazine pieces
Photos
Bent Notes (Blog)
MUSICAL LINKS
Bruce Helgeson (guitarist)
Mark Cook (guitarist)
Cathy Morris (violinist)
Sarah's Swing Set (trio)
Ron Kadish (bassist)
Larry Ridley (bassist)
Southside Jerry (sax titan)
Janiece Jaffe (vocalist)
Quinn Lemley (vocalist)
Bad Daddy Records
Acme Records
Morris Studio
All About Jazz
Indie-music.com
Volbrecht Guitars
ARTS LINKS
Catherine Burris
Robert Pulley
Into Art/ Our Brown County
Matthew D. Jackson
Columbus Museum of Art
and Design
Dance Street
Stephanie Bishop
Photography
Cannon Gallery and Murals
MISC. LINKS
WCSI 1010 AM
The Republic
GOOD EATS
Chef Daniel Orr
is available here
- and it makes the
perfect gift for the
music fans, history
buffs and those who
enjoy a rollicking
story on your
gift-giving list.
My novel, High C at the Sunset
Terrace, set in Indianapolis in 1948
in the jazz clubs along Indiana
Avenue, is just the item to put in the
stocking of someone who likes a
panoramic, colorful tale that
celebrates a magical, musical time
in American history.
You can order it here.
I'm available for interviews and
speaking engagements.
And, of course, I'm available for
holiday celebrations, in any number
of combinations with my musical
associates.
I've mainly been focusing on jazz guitar lately, but I spent a great
deal of time singing in blues bands back in the day. The whole
thing is an outgrowth of my interest in that strain of American
music that brought us Will Marion Cook, Duke Ellington, Leroy
Carr, Charlie Parker, Earl Bostic, Leiber & Stoller, Willie Dixon,
The Moonglows, Joe Henderson, O. V. Wright and Kenny Burrell.
For the past couple of years I've mainly been playing in duo
settings, with either keyboard, bass or violin. The musical
interaction is intense that way, and you don't have to split the
money too much. Wine bars, wedding receptions, corporate
functions. Standards and straight-ahead charts. I'm always up for
collaborations or sideman work that fits in with my overall
orientation.
Continual growth is important to me. To that end, I have attended
the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshop the past several
years. That has involved master classes on guitar with the likes of
Dave Stryker, Steve Erquiaga, Fred Hamilton, and Mike Diliddo. I
always come back fried, but after a couple of days, I'm ready to
make quantum leaps in my musical explorations.
I write for Indie-music.com (interviews and record reviews) and
Into Art magazine (profiles of painters and gallery owners). I
have contributed to Arts Indiana, NUVO, and the now defunct
BC. Pieces on everyone from dancers to poets to
symphony-orchestra administrative types. For a year back in the
early part of the decade, I wrote a weekly piece on R&B history
for Suite 101.com. I'd been hearing that that stuff was still
floating around in cyberspace. I did a keyword search and voila!
So now I have made all fifty-some of those available on the
"Writing Clips" page. Great for cultural-history research papers.
I write a column for The Republic, the daily newspaper in
Columbus, Indiana. I'm in there every few weeks in the Sunday
edition. I've written on everything from why I play jazz to what we
can and can't expect of capitalism to whether there's anything at
this late date that unites us as Americans. Not syndicated yet,
but that's the plan.
My observations and conclusions are driven by a yearning to see
some clear understanding of economics, human nature and
history restored to our national conversation, and to see some
loveliness and dignity and genuine groove restored to our culture.
I host Stirring Something Up, a food-and-dining program on
WCSI-AM 1010 at 10 AM EST Saturday mornings. (Easy to
remember, don't you think?) I do restaurant reviews, recipes,
some regular segments like Food History Corner and Herb of the
Week.
I teach blues history and jazz history at Indiana University -
Purdue University at Columbus.
