“I don’t want to live in the kind of world where we don’t look out for each other. Not just the people that are close to us, but anybody who needs a helping hand…” Charles de Lint, Canadian writer.

Last weekend, I went to the Waverly Farmers Market here in Baltimore. Sat my keys down at a vendor’s stand (a bakery vendor of course). Walked toward my car. Stopped to fetch my keys. Couldn’t find them and couldn’t remember where I last had them. Was sitting on a curb emptying the contents of my purse when a woman named Mary saw the look of panic on my face and stopped to see if I needed help. She chose to walk with me as I backtracked through the market to each vendor I’d visited. Thankfully, I rescued my keys from the lost and found. During this adventure, Mary and I sang a Bob Marley song with the busker (I mean, it was International Reggae Day), and talked politics, tweets, NPR, and community. As we parted with hugs and air kisses, I thanked her for her kindness and promised to pass it on and show love and kindness to someone else. I’m asking all of you amazing beings of light to do the same. Be kind to someone. Offer to help. Give a compliment, or share a smile. This is how we create the world we want to see, one moment, one step, one encounter at a time. 

Till next…

DG

A musical giant and one of my dearest mentors transitioned two weeks ago.

There are really no words that can describe how much Vic Glazer meant to me. I met him when he moved to Bermuda with his beautiful wife Pam Jones Glazer. I’d heard of him before I met him – past musical director for Debbie Reynolds and dozens of Vegas legends. Before long we were working together at the different venues throughout the island. He believed in my talent, and continuously challenged me to be better. When I studied music theory with him, he was a tough taskmaster. On some nights when I thought I’d given good performances, he’d accuse me of “phoning it in.” He always accused me of being and playing small, and always challenged me to be better than I thought I could be. When he thought I was ready, he went so far as to contact some of the biggest agencies in Florida to help me secure bookings in resorts and other showrooms. When I began doing the Florida dates, Vic always played for me. On some of those dates, He and Pam (and sometimes his parents) insisted that I stay with them instead of at a hotel. He offered to help me create my very first solo show. He found songs that suited both my talent, voice, and personality, and arranged them so I could show the best of what God had given me. When I was given the opportunity to open the Bermuda Jazz Festival in 1999, he agreed to be the MD and pianist. With some of the top talent in Bermuda, we made magic that night. I will never forget that for as long as I live. When he decided to record his very own CD, he asked me not only to sing on it but to pen original lyrics to the Miles Davis classic ‘So What’. My heart is heavy, but I know that I am a better musician/vocalist/entertainer because I knew him. Here is a link to a recording that we did at the Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton. Vic wrote and arranged the charts, and played in and conducted the band – you will get a glimpse of him here – doing what he loved. A thousand thank you’s, my mentor and friend. May you finally rest in peace.