Music Life and Times

 As one of the most in-demand products in the world, music offers lots of career opportunities. With the right amount of work and dedication, musicians can make a very good living playing and performing as well as in many other music-related jobs. Sometimes, though, life as a musician can be a little erratic, unpredictable. Playing so many different venues, sometimes in locations around the world, can lead to challenging situa...

One of the life lessons you learn, learning to play music is how to be authentic. In music it means developing your own style and individual expression. Of course, you are inspired by others and you have to learn the craft, but as you mature you develop your own sound, your own “voice.” Being authentic takes courage, especially when you are performing, but the courage you amass will carry over to being authentic in what...

Like many accomplished jazz musicians, renowned trumpeter, vocalist and big band leader Joe Gransden is mindful of the need to play a role in ensuring the survival of that American art form. For Joe, that has led to the establishment of the Future of Jazz, a program he has developed in cooperation with the 100-plus-year-old Atlanta Music Club to cultivate the next generation of jazz musicians by connecting them directly with season...

Jamie Hood is the owner-operator of the digital marketing agency, Jamie Hood Creative/Marketing, but also a lifelong musician. That experience and his passion to “give back” come together in a charitable initiative he calls the Fare Thee Well Foundation. For more than 20 years, Jamie and the Foundation have been staging music-oriented events, the entire proceeds from which go to provide music camp scholarships to kids w...

Sonny Rollins passed away on May 25 at the of 95. The legendary saxophonist of the bebop era and beyond was famously unhappy with his performances. But the occasional bad night was worth the trade-off to Rollins. His refusal to play the same passages the same way from night to night, those risks he took regularly might go badly at times, but they were also responsible for his greatest moments. The example he set applies well beyond...

Will Scruggs is a noted jazz saxophonist with a head for business and a major commitment to the sustainability of jazz in the city of Atlanta. That has led Will on a three-year journey to establish a new home for jazz in Atlanta. Named after Sam Yi's historic Churchill Grounds and historic jazz figure Mary Lou Williams, Churchill Grounds at the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Center will include a club with a stage large enough to accommoda...

2026 Super Bowl winning quarterback Sam Darnold was once considered a “draft bust.” Interviewed after his Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots, Darnold told reporters, “As long as you believe in yourself, anything is possible.” Music is analogous to sports in many ways: performers can't hide; it's live; it takes years of hard work to become accomplished and failure along the way is inevitable; confid...

It's not an uncommon story: Musicians take another course in life to ensure a steady enough career to support themselves and their families. But sometimes, they have the courage and a passion for playing music to eventually leave corporate life and return to music as their full-time pursuit. The bottom-line reason: Nothing compares to the feeling of playing music well and seeing the enjoyment in the faces of your audience. That's t...

Steve Williams is a multifaceted musician: composer, arranger, saxophonist. His depth of expertise and versatility has led him over his more than 50 years of playing and performing into a wide range of musical arenas, from the famed One O'Clock Band of his North Texas University days, to the U.S. Navy Commodores, where he played lead alto, was musical director, and contributed some 70 compositions and arrangements, to his current r...

In 2005, Mica Bethea, a 21-year-old jazz student at the University of North Florida, was driving back to campus when he was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer in stand-still traffic. The accident left him quadriplegic, with close to 90 percent of his body paralyzed. Doctors told him he would never again play his instruments, saxophone and piano. But he refused to let the accident keep him from music. After three years of rehabilitatio...

An entrepreneur is defined as someone who starts or owns a business and is willing to take on the related risks. As a musician, your business is your career, and while you might not have employees or an office to keep afloat, you are a service provider running your own business. In a Harvard Business School Online article, “10 Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs,” (https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/characteristic...

Howard Paul is well known and respected as a highly accomplished jazz guitarist. But he is also a pillar of the Savannah, Georgia music community. He has served as Savannah Jazz Festival chair and president of the board of directors of the Savannah Jazz/Coastal Jazz Association for a combined twelve years. He was inducted into the Savannah Coastal Jazz Hall of Fame in 2011. Howard continues as a member of the Association board, whi...

Reverend Timothy J. Mercaldo is a professional musician and, for more than 35 years, an evangelical minister who uses music as his primary way to connect with people. With music and worship as centerpieces of his life, Tim founded WorshipPlus to equip local churches and Christian organizations to think creatively, that is, to use the creative arts to enhance their worship experiences and outreach events. In this episode, Tim talks ...

Howard R. Paul is one of those rare individuals with the talent and energy to successfully navigate a dual career as business person and jazz musician. Paul has established himself as both as an internationally acclaimed guitarist, whose CDs include “Tony Monaco/Howard Paul: New Adventures,” “Bob James & Howard Paul: Just Friends: The Hamilton Hall Session,” and “Ali Ryerson: Jammin’ At The J...

Through 20-something years of his post-graduate professional music career, Bassist Chris Riggenbach has compiled an impressive resume based on his versatility. Playing cello as a youngster, he graduated to electric bass in high school, then in college took on upright bass in order to play with jazz combos. His versatility has found him in everything from orchestras for musicals to jazz trios touring Europe, and includes 10 years on...

Saxophonist Matt Miller was influenced by the playing of legendary saxophonist Hank Mobley early in his musical life and has remained so throughout his own career. Mobley’s influence has extended beyond Miller’s playing to a passion to learn more about this beloved player about whom comparatively little has been written or is known. History seemingly has forgotten the man, a contemporary of John Coltrane and Sonny Rolli...