According to my editorial schedule (which is a grandiose way of referrencing a list scratched on a Post-It®), I was supposed to write about how I became a blogger today. But, as you may recall, I sang at the Dakota this weekend as a member of my good friend Jay Young’s Lyric Factory. (That’s him and me in the photo.)

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Let me tell you, I had a blast! Being on stage with all those great players (and good-hearted people) was exhilarating.

(Fellow factory workers included Ian Young (bass and Jay’s son), Thom West (keys), Kevin Washington (percussion), Pete Whitman (brass and woodwinds), Sol Testimony (spoken word artist) and my sisters in song – Judi Donaghy and Michele Denise Michaels.)

It was a swinging, fun and cool night of music. Jay took the Wonder and Jackson tunes we all know and love and reworked them into fresh new treats to savor and enjoy. The new arrangements and integrating the spoken word worked so well it could have seemed easy (or obvious?) – but Jay told me he spent a year thinking about the concept and the tunes. (That’s genius.)

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Aces of Bass: Anthony Cox & Jay Young

Looking out and seeing so many friends and colleagues – Spices’ members, Lori Dokken, Ann Kay, Nancy Harms and Debbie Duncan and Anthony Cox (Debbie and Anthony have a show at the Dakota this coming weekend) – in the audience was great fun, too! One of the sweetest moments of the night was the woman washing hands next to me in the restroom who excitedly whispered “Wow, I’m standing next to the singer!” I responded “Wow, I’m standing next to a fan!” (Hey, it’s all about perspective.)

And, of course, I was happy that my dad was able to buzz up and catch the show. *smile*

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Well, all that good, clean fun took it’s toll. Not only did I abandon my posting plans for today, I meant to have more photos** to share with you … (You see I was busy being in the moment, so I didn’t do a great job of recording the moment.)

In other words, the Dakota ate my homework.

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For extra credit, I put together this medley of audio from Saturday night’s show. Enjoy! (No comments on my editing, please. *smile*)

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Thanks to everyone who came and supported me at my Dakota debut. I really appreciate it. (And, if you were at the show and took pics, I would love copies. *wink*)

“Do what you can instead of all or nothing.”

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The nugget of wisdom above comes from my sis.

(It’s the reason you’re getting a teensy blog post today … instead of nothing. *smile*)

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P.S. Here’s a 30-second preview of this weekend’s tribute show.
(Click the triangle.)

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Once again, it’s Sunday night and I am sitting with my laptop awaiting inspiration. All the good intentions I had to write this post earlier in the weekend are off paving some road. Hmm.

(A-ha, a spark!)

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At one of my (many) jobs, the following quote was written on the blackboard.

“Discipline is remembering what you want.”
– David Campbell

(Having stifled the urge to find the Saks Fifth Avenue founder and shake him until his eyeballs rattle) I admit … I agree.

Because let’s be honest — the only reason I’m up late writing a blog post that I hope will turn out to be insightful and interesting (but mostly I hope will turn out to be finished) instead of going to bed to prep for my 12-hour Monday schedule is because I want to.

It’s part of my bigger picture. It’s part of me feeling connected to each and every one of you. It’s about creating, singing and building community.

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It’s about what the Universe is trying to tell me that most of the time I foolishly believe is what I’m trying to tell you. *smile*

It’s about scheduling time and space to be creative and seeing what can happen. In this blog, I make a space for myself to ruminate and write about improvisation. (It says so right in the title!)

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It’s about nurturing (dare I say nourishing?) the “reflecting and being” part of my life even when the “running and doing” parts of my life have the upper hand.

It’s about sitting down with the blank page, the blank space (or, in the case of spontaneous singing, the silence) and once again being blessed and amazed by what I can create.

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In case you were wondering why the title seemed vaguely familiar … *wink*