What are the greatest rewards and challenges of being a jazz musician here?
Let’s start with the rewards. What led us to decide to stay here was the atmosphere in Bloomington — it has a small-town atmosphere and living costs, but big-city cultural advantages. We knew several examples of people who made the move to New York, then came back. And we’re from a small town in Germany (Albstadt) and like the idea of being settled. It was a big move from Germany to Alabama; we were there three years, and we had to uproot ourselves again. It’s a big decision to start all over. We’ve found so many good friends and great people here. And you have to find the situation that works for you. Did you ever consider that, by settling in Indiana, there might be some danger in being too far removed from first-class players? There’s a lot of people who come through Bloomington; we’re exposed to some of the best people there are. As I tell my music industry classes, you create your own scene. If you want places to play and you have ideas, you make that happen. Last year for everyon
