Introducing myself

Hi everyone,

My name is Kenneth LaFave. I'm a professional writer whose subjects include classical music and jazz, the arts, ideas, food and general culture, and I'm excited to start posting here at Steemit.

I've published two books on musical subjects, "Experiencing Leonard Bernstein" and "Experiencing Film Music" (Rowman & Littlefield). The latter came out earlier this year and was given a rave review in The Wall Street Journal. "Mr. LaFave hits the target," Terry Teachout wrote. "Once you've read ('Experiencing Film Music'), you'll never again be able to ignore the presence (or absence) of music on the soundtrack of a movie." I'm also a composer/songwriter, and the co-writer of Psalm 23 on Jessi Colter's new album "The Psalms" (Sony).

I thought I'd start by sharing an anecdote I just heard about the last words of Buddy Rich, the fabled jazz drummer known for his strange way with words. Apparently, as he lay dying on a hospital bed, Rich started to moan an complain. A nurse rushed into his room and asked, "Mr. Rich, is something making you uncomfortable?" The jazz master retorted, "Yes, country music." And then he died.

To me, that's right up there with the last words supposedly uttered by Col. George Custer, reported by the only white survivor of the Little Big Horn: "Where the hell are all these Indians coming from?"

Glad to be here, looking forward to posting on my favorite subjects.