Novartis Oncology Kick-Off Meeting

Just returned home from speaking, along side with Tricia McAleer from the Life Raft Group, at the Novartis Oncology Kick-Off Meeting. This is a meeting at the Novartis campus where they talk about all of the research they are doing, and they like to hear from patients and other groups who are affected by or involved with said research...as in GIST and Gleevec. It was held in a fairly large auditorium,

with probably 250+ folks in attendance.













Before Tricia and I sat in those chairs, we watched a short video of their meeting from last year in Dallas, featuring the Pulitzer Prize winning author Siddhartha Mukherjee, who won the prize for his book.."The Emperor of All Maladies..A Biography of Cancer"...which I found to be very inspiring!

And, Novartis gave me a copy of the book-can't wait to read it!

Their moderator, Tracy, asked me about my symptoms, the various stages of the diagnosis, everything leading up to where I am now which is coming up to year 3...cancer free!
When I told the audience that the tumor was 13 lbs there was a huge collective gasp in the auditorium. Now, if you've ever heard several hundred people gasping at once, it can be quite a jolt, so I kinda laughed after I said that and said.."yes, that's like having twins or one really huge baby"...which of course they all laughed and the tension in the room was gone...and we continued.

I talked about the need for Novartis to educate us more about the science behind Gleevec, and what exactly is it doing in our bodies, what causes the side effects, are there nutritional deficiencies, and more information on the studies and stats of adjuvant therapy.

 After we spoke and left the auditorium, a doctor from Novartis came up to me, handed me his card and told me to get in touch with him and he would help me with a lot of the questions I had posed, so I hope to be talking with him in the very near future.

I also thanked all of them for their work on GIST cancer and on Gleevec...I don't think we Gisters could ever thank them enough.

They asked me for photos so I sent them photos of me at Lake George (very short hair), the recording session with the Inside/Out Trio (hair is curly and longer) the big band gig at Trumpets in 2011 (hair is still curly and much longer)...thought it would be good for them to see the healthy transformation.
 They were ecstatic to hear that I was back to performing, composing and teaching.

Tricia talked about the role of the Life Raft Group, their research, and their outreach. She also talked about the need for more information from Novartis and perhaps personal contact with patients to guide them through the process.

It was a really great morning, and a big shout out and thank you to Leslie Fields, their Associate Director of Patient Advocacy, for making it so easy and laid back for Tricia and I to participate (not to mention the yummy breakfast!)

Photos from last nights show..........

We had a wonderful performance last night-the band sounded great-tributes to Frank Foster, Daniel Pearl and Elzy Kolb.....guest composer Russ Vines.... a great audience...a lot of love in the house!
These photos are from the wonderful photographer Chris Drukker...with lighting by another wonderful photographer/film maker Dennis Connors who was there filming with his crew.
http://gallery.me.com/dianemoser#100693
Our sincere thanks to everyone who came out-we loved playing for you!

All About Jazz Concert Review of Perry Robinson,Max Johnson and yours truly.....

Back in August-post Hurricane Irene-the wonderful bassist Max Johnson invited me to play with him and the ever astounding clarinetist Perry Robinson. It was a magical night of music-lots of quiet intensity and lyrical playing by all of us. This is a review of that concert from the All About Jazz (online version) newspaper that was posted just a few days ago.
Enjoy!

By

MARTIN LONGLEY,

Published: October 7, 2011

Perry Robinson/Diane Moser/Max Johnson
The University Of The Streets
August 30, 2011

Native New Yorker Perry Robinson is not one of the better known free improvisers, but his stature is no less significant as a result. Within a certain scene the clarinetist has accrued importance, his activities stretching back to the early 1960s. This low-key set involved a trio with pianist Diane Moser and bassman Max Johnson, making up a mixed generational spread. They all have connections, but hadn't played together for quite some time. There was no sheet music in sight, but their improvisations existed within the realms of chamber composition, mostly being of a sensitively harmonious nature.
These three possessed a strong sense of instant composition, masterfully evolving ideas in a gradually linear flow. It appeared that the small gathering who witnessed this session were gripped by the music's concentrated aura. Though the medium-length improvisations were mostly serene, this didn't impede a recurring mood of thoughtful, introverted tension. All three players were expert at alternating sudden emphatic clumps of notes with contrasting streams of calm flotation. This was particularly apparent as Johnson's bruising bass lines, fingered with hardness in a gloriously unamplified state, were regularly alternated with groaning, bowed stretches, establishing a sequence of percussive bullishness, entering into hovering sustain. Moser, too, initiated sections where she was hammering with gusto, building up rippling blocks. Robinson maintained a superbly articulate clarinet poise, dancing loquaciously, only becoming more fragmented and strident during the closing piece. All three players were completely immersed in the music—much like their audience. This set's quieter, introverted methods were all the more poignant when set beside its fleeting outbreaks of aggression.

Massaged Kale Salad

Just returned home from a 50th bday party that was fabulous-great food and great friends!
I brought Massaged Kale Salad...which everyone always loves so I figured I would share the recipe...it's a variation of a recipe that I found on a wonderful blog called http://iheartkale.blogspot.com/2009/01/massaged-kale-salad-with-grated-root.html 
I do  the "massaging of the kale"-with olive oil and sea salt...then as I add in the ingredients I massage it some more....
1 grated (small) beet grated
(2 or 3 baby)carrots
minced red onion (about 1/4 cup),
kalmata olives (about 1/3 cup)
1 diced (small) tomato
1 diced (small) avocado
.....then I add lemon juice...more massaging and a little bit of balsamic vinegar-the vinegar was only for tonight-I was just in the mood for it!
As I said to someone who asked for the recipe...to me it's about the kale...everything else just adds a little bit of seasoning.
From start to finish it takes less than 30 mins (depends on how fast you can chop and dice).
Go to the blog...really fantastic recipes on there!

Breaking Boundaries;The Art of Alex Masket online and free to everyone!

Dennis Connors has uploaded his movie Breaking Boundaries:The Art of Alex Masket to Vimeo for the world to see! As many of you know, Dennis asked me to compose music for this 18 min documentary-which I did-and recorded with bassist Andy Eulau, drummer Scott Neumann, Trombonist Ben Williams and trumpet player Rob Henke-a stellar quintet indeed! I had a wonderful time composing and recording the music-and these guys are just incredible to play and record with.
It was a team effort-or as Dennis likes to call us " Team Alex"-and it was very exciting to see the film win so many awards and to see Dennis win the 2010 Golden Cine Eagle Award as well as the Berkshire Bank Next Great Best Film Maker Award (as part of the Berkshire International Film Festival).
And it was especially exciting to introduce the art of Alex Masket to the world!

Now...onto the next project!

Diane Mosers Composers Big Band

Diane Mosers Composers Big Band is participating in the Daniel Pearl World Music Days. 10th Annual Daniel Pearl World Music Days - October 1st - 31st, 2011
When I registered our event-they asked for a dedication and this is what I wrote...."We will be dedicating this concert to the memory of Daniel Pearl and to the belief that we are all music and that music can bring us together! "
Our concert will be:
Wed Oct 12th
8-11PM
$15 cover
Trumpets Jazz Club
6 Depot Sqaure
Montclair, NJ 07043
973.744.2600
http://www.trumpetsjazz.com/main.html
http://www.myspace.com/dianemoserscomposersbigband

Daniel Pearl (October 10, 1963, Princeton NJ – February 1, 2002) was an American journalist who was kidnapped and killed by Al-Qaeda.At the time of his kidnapping, Pearl served as the South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, and was based in Mumbai, India. He went to Pakistan as part of an investigation into the alleged links between Richard Reid (the "shoe bomber") and Al-Qaeda. He was subsequently beheaded by his captors. In July 2002, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a British national of Pakistani origin, was sentenced to death by hanging for Pearl's abduction and murder. In March 2007, at a closed military hearing in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said that he had personally beheaded Pearl. Current al-Qaeda leader Saif al-Adel has also been connected with the murder of Daniel Pearl.

Daniel Pearl recognized the ability of music to bridge differences among people. In the spirit of his love of music and commitment to dialogue, the Daniel Pearl Foundation launched the first Daniel Pearl World Music Days on October 10, 2002, which would have been Danny's 39th birthday. Using the power of music to promote tolerance and inspire respect for differences, Daniel Pearl World Music Days has grown to include more than 6,700 performances in 111 countries. In 2005 the Daniel Pearl Foundation introduced World Music Days eStage, a monthlong radio station and permanent online gallery which features music, poetry, art, articles and dedications reflecting Danny’s lifetime of work connecting people through words and music.

Daniel Pearl World Music Days is an international network of concerts that use the power of music to reaffirm our commitment to tolerance and humanity. Since 2002, Daniel Pearl World Music Days has grown to include the participation of more than 6,700 performances in 111 countries. World Music Days is an awareness-raising program, not a fundraiser.

Millay Colony for the Arts Residency part 1

Just finished a month long residency at the Millay Colony for the Arts made possible by a grant from the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation-finished transcribing the last 2 compositions of The Birdsong Project and one more movement for the Music of the Spheres Project-which will be scored for the big band! It was an amazing residency...filled with wonderful encounters with nature, exploring new territory with my music as well as the environs. Situated on top of a mountain and surrounded by a state park, I had the perfect setting to work on the music of the spheres project. My studio door led out to an open space with perfect viewing of the night sky! It's been a while since I've been able to see the Milky Way-I haven't been camping lately-and I haven't been in areas that aren't surrounded by light pollution. It was very dark at night outside my studio door-and very quiet-I just loved it! What a luxury to be able to just step outside a door and see the heavens-with the Perseid meteors zooming across the sky!