So for me, like, one of the things about music that I really love and my favorite music,

there's always a mystery, you know?

There's always something to try to discover or like a corner to turn or some sort of fog

to be lifted or something, like there needs to be something mysterious about it.

So finding the thing that the person goes like, wait, what was that?

Hello strong songs listeners, Kirk here on an off-week with a special bonus episode,

a conversation with someone I've always loved talking to about music, the wonderful

New York-based pianist and composer, Carmen Staff.

Carmen and I go back, we went to music school at about the same time and while we attended

different programs, we had some mutual friends and we always found that whenever we had a chance

to chat, we had a lot to talk about.

These days, she's a well-known player on the New York scene, she's performed with legends

like Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, as well as at Jazz at Lincoln Center, she served

as pianist and musical director for D.D. Bridgewater, which if you know who D.D. Bridgewater

is, that's a very big deal.

She's taught it all sorts of prestigious music programs, she has a bunch of her own projects

as well.

She's just one of those extremely impressive people who I as a remember that I know and

I think, oh yeah, I know Carmen, that's pretty cool.

I asked her, she might want to come on the show and just chat for an hour and that's what

we did, we got on Zoom and we just sort of talked.

Topics ranged from how she approaches ear training and teaching to the perceived inaccessibility

...