Courageous Blues, to honor everyone affected by COVID-19, my newest track, is released today.

What can I say about the past 12 months that hasn’t already been said or written about living through COVID-19 and all of the subsequent restrictions and challenges?  I can definitely say things from my own personal experience.  I can say I am more blessed than I deserve.  While many people have lost their jobs, especially those in the restaurant industry, in travel and entertainment, I have been able to stay busy with work most of the year except with a few periods where work was scarce.  But on the other hand, I have shared the hardship and loneliness of isolation and separation from family, friends and colleagues.  My daughter, who has autism and developmental disabilities, lives in a long term care facility and due to the COVID restrictions she has been almost continuously quarantined in her facility, except for a few short times, since March 2020.  I know there are countless families across the country in similar situations with loved ones more or less locked up in nursing homes and long term care facilities.

Many others have family or friends who have lost their lives to the virus and have even been denied the right to have a funeral or memorial to pay their last respects.  And the deceased have had to die isolated and alone.

And into this challenge our doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers and first responders have had to rush in daily to care for the sick and dying.

It was looking back at all that we have been through as a nation that I composed this song, Courageous Blues.  I chose to make it an instrumental because words are lacking.  The melody and vibe reflect the striving, working, wondering, crying, hoping, persisting day in and day out for victory, for a better day.  It is a blues, because many of us have been blue, but as is true with the blues, we know a better day is coming and we are facing our challenges with courage.  Please download a high resolution version of Courageous Blues from my Music Store, or find it at your favorite digital distributor like Amazon, Apple Music, etc.