News of the Man

Today is Greg's birthday, so it's a good time to catch everyone up on the Man News. I promise to get caught up with everything else, too, but things have been particularly chaotic lately. If it weren't for Twitter, no one would hear anything from me at all these days! (I'm @my3seadogs if you care to follow me.)

The Man is one birthday shy of a half-century today, which makes him my own personal San Francisco 49er. (He doesn't even follow football, but he was born in SF.) He shares his birthday with both John Lennon and his son Sean, Jackson Browne, Tony Shalhoub, Scott Bakula, Camille Saint-Saens, Miguel de Cervantes, and John Entwistle.

There's actually a lot of Man News to tell. He spent last Sunday and Monday in NYC at the recording session for the last movement of the Sax Quartet. Everyone was psyched -- the guys in the quartet were having great fun with the piece. Now that the whole CD is in the proverbial can, it's time for the final editing and production. It's supposed to be available around the first of the year -- look for it on iTunes!

Not that Greg sits still for very long. He's been working on a gorgeous piece for (I think) flute, viola, and harp. Its working title is Symbolist Minimalist, but that's likely to change. The parts I've heard are blow-you-out-of-your-seat lovely.

He spoke to the folks at ERM Media recently, too. The compilation recording with his Water Suite -- the one that was recorded in Prague -- is also supposed to be released Any Time Now. He didn't receive a preview for a very long time, and by the time he was able to hear it and give his inputs, it was almost too late. The company had to remake the master, but at least his inputs are in it this time.

He's also making a name for himself in a bunch of other places, including the 2009 Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World, and as a critic for CRS. He received a brief but complimentary mention in the New Music Connoisseur's review of the June ACA concerts, too.

Next Monday (October 13), he's going to be interviewed in Second Life as part of the Music Academy Online's ongoing series. I don't know the time yet, but will post a playback link if I can find one.

Anyway, happy birthday, Mister Man. Hope next year will be even more successful and inspiring than this one!