Who says you can't go home?

I just finished a short tour in Toronto and Guelph. It was a whirlwind and emotional trip. Whirlwind I was expecting, but it was a shock to me how many different emotions passed through me while I was there.

On Tuesday I played a lunch hour show at a performance space at York University. I graduated from York with my BFA in 1998 and I think the last time I was there was in 1999 to hear a concert my brother was playing. (He graduated from there in 2001) I took the subway up to Downsview station (which I might add, was not built until I was in my third year at York) and boarded the York University Rocket (which in my day was still the 106A bus - now it's a rocket??!?) As the bus turned onto Sentinel road, I was flooded with memories and emotions.

York is a completely different school then where I went. They have build a huge track of new buildings, which I assume is housing for students with families or older students. There is now a proper music building with state of the art facilities and a labyrinth of practice rooms and rehearsal studios. Back in the 90s, we were stuffed into the basement of Winter's college with a couple of lousy practice modules that smelled skanky and had crappy digital pianos in them. There were a few practice rooms, but you had to walk out to the East Office building to get a key to them. I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but in the dead of winter in North York it was nearly an insurmountable task. The new facility is completely gorgeous. The space that my group performed in was reminiscent of Jazz At Lincoln Center, where there are panoramic views of Central park. In the case of York, there were panoramic views of the campus, but it was a great space to play in. What a change from that dreaded lounge where we hosted the Jazz Bash back in my day.

Despite the less-than-ideal facilities at York, I am extremely proud of the education that I received there. It is no secret that York was not my first choice. I really wanted to go to McGill or University of Toronto, but I was rejected from both schools. My grades were good enough to get into both schools, but neither school accepted me based on my audition. (U of T actually went on to reject me two other times). York accepted me with open arms and so I went, albeit with a bit of hesitation. It ended up being the perfect place for me.

I was accepted into the BFA program with a focus in music. I auditioned for and was accepted into the Jazz Workshop, which was a program consisting of 3 hours of theory/materials, 3 hours of supervised jazz ensemble and 3 hours of unsupervised jazz ensemble each week. The school did not offer private lessons at that time, but we did have instrument specific masterclasses a few times each semester. It was an ideal program for me in that it taught me to be self directed and self motivated in my own education. It really harvested that part of me that is a seeker of knowledge. I thrived in this environment, asking questions and fostering relationships with all of my professors. I picked everyone's brain, went to hear all of my professors perform and in my third and fourth years, I even hired a few of my professors to perform with me. One of the most exciting experiences of my life was when I put together a show with saxophonist Mike Murley. We had a sold out concert in the Mac Pub at York, which was an education unto itself.

York University afforded me the chance to scratch my itch of intellectual curiosity. I took humanities and social science courses. I took film theory. I was granted a top notch education in ethnomusicology and had the privilege of taking Jazz History and Latin American and Caribbean music with Bob Witmer. In my final year I was permitted to do an independent study in Stride Piano with the amazing boogie woogie/stride pianist Bill Westcott. My brain was twisted and stretched in John Gittins' Jazz Workshop, where I was taught the language of jazz harmony.

At York I learned how to learn. I learned how to ask questions and I learned how to go about answering them. I performed constantly, hosting a weekly jam session in the Mac Pub, where other York students were able to get together and work out our jazz chops. The school was very generous with opportunities for me. I performed for events and private parties and was awarded the coveted Oscar Peterson Scholarship two years in a row. I loved York and York supported me back.

I still can't believe that eleven years have passed since I graduated. It blows my mind when I think about it! It was a thrill to be back at my alma mater to see the changes. We have both grown so much in eleven years.