Why I Created Counterparts

Starting With What Matters

Counterparts came out of a desire to strip things back to the part of jazz I care about most: improvisation and communication. No tunes, no forms, no plan. Just showing up and seeing what happens.

Letting the Music Reveal Itself

We start playing and something usually appears—a feel, a shape, a direction. Once it does, we stay with it, pull on it, stretch it, and let it change on its own. There's nothing to return to if it falls apart, and that's intentional.

Finding the Right Partner

Finding John Funkhouser made this possible. John is open to anything and brings real energy every time we play. More importantly, he listens. There's a lot of trust involved, and that trust is what lets the music move without effort.

No Safety Net

It's uncomfortable at times. We walk in with no material and no backup plan. But that discomfort is also the reason it works. The only limits are what we can hear, react to, and execute in the moment.

Why It Stays Open-Ended

I don't know where this project is going, and I'm not trying to decide that in advance. Counterparts only exists when we're playing. Everything else is secondary. The music lives in those moments and then it's gone.