Just as the 2020 Pandemic continues on, so do the new life lessons! Tour cancellations had given birth to "The Quarantine Series" which were initially solo piano recordings of whatever met my fancy: improvised meditations, standards, covers, soundtracks, video game music, and hymns. This evolved to include livestreamed "Hangs" and "JK's Playground."
Over the last decade, I had been collecting VSTs (virtual instruments), but they were inaccessible to the blind till just recently. It has been extremely exciting to record side-by-side comparisons of various VSTs and occasionally collaborating with another blind artist, Andre Louis from London! These "piano shootouts" and collaborations are being compiled into "JK's Playground: A Producer's Series." And, if you're interested in this sort of thing, be sure to catch Andre's podcasts where we discuss our favorite virtual pianos and Rhodes.
The Wednesday Night Hangs were a lot of fun and featured the music of some of my favorite Artists, the Disney Songbook, Star Wars & Harry Potter films, the video game Final Fantasy with a few Hangs featuring requests from viewers. The "Christmas Hang" was added in December and there were two special livestreams: "Clark Terry's Centennial Celebration" to honor C.T. on what would have been his 100th birthday, and the Christmas Day Marathon Hang (song titles have been time-stamped, so you don't have to sit through the whole thing!)
For the last couple of months, I have been composing/scoring music for a new project, so the livestreams are taking a break, except for Sunday's Hymns & Things (3 pm EST, 12 pm PST). And, if you feel so inclined, you can catch tomorrow's Hang (Jan 31) here: https://youtu.be/iBj4n6A46jo
I hope The Quarantine Series has been as helpful to you as it has been for me! You can find all of the playlists and livestreams at www.youtube.com/@justinkauflinmusic
In the meantime, stay in good health and keep safe!
Peace!
Justin
www.justinkauflin.com