Jordan E. Spivack: News Updates

I just added 11 new pics to my Photo Gallery, including our friend the squirrel, a lovely pastel sunset, and our colorful Christmas tree in the first snow of Winter (1-21-12) - hope you like!

I just added 22 new and happy Christmas and Chanukah pics to the Photo Gallery from our visit with the family in upstate NY - I'm sure you will enjoy checking these out!

I'm wishing everyone a very healthy, safe, prosperous, peaceful, and Happy New Year! May 2012 be your best year yet! Enjoy!

You're going to love seeing the 82 new pics I just added to the Photo Gallery! First, there's our tree in front of our house, then glorious shots from our trip to NYC to see the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center, including the imaginative Bergdorf Goodman windows and the fab decorations on 5th Ave. Have a ball perusing these - remember to click on the first picture on each page, to get a slide show of all the colorful scenery! And listen to the happy holiday music on the Flash Player to accompany your journey!

I just added the Christmas song "For My Shepherd In The Field" to the Flash Player: lyrics by Joseph P. Lanzone and music by Jordan E. Spivack. And enjoy the other holiday tracks "Visions Of Sugar Plums", "Christmas Around The Cape" (from the "My Provincetown" CD), and "Snow Drift", too! Also, go to the Listen to My Music page and click on the title to see the lyrics and learn the very personal story of how the song came to be created!

My Latin instrumental "Loose" has gotten some outstanding recognition in the OurStage Jazz channel competition for the month of November! The song ended up at #14 (Top 40), as well as the #10 Top Jazz Track for the week of Nov. 27th, and #11 Hot Jazz Song for the entire month of November. Also, I am the #11 Hot Jazz Artist for the month (#17 in October) as well. All good news! This is the 2nd month in-a-row I have scored a Top 40 spot ("Dunes" was #18 in October, and was the #17 Top Jazz Track for the entire month). Listen to "Loose" now on the Flash Player (at the top of this page), and turn the volume up!

I'm wishing a very Happy Thanksgiving to all my family, friends and fans all around the world! Be well, be safe, count your blessings - I know I have so much to be thankful for - enjoy your time with loved ones!

Just added: a brand new tune "Whimsy" to the Flash Player - listen now!

Just added 8 brand new pics of a most spectacular sunset here in Nanuet, NY late this afternoon (11-13-11) - enjoy!

I just added 20 new pics to the Photo Gallery - part of Joe's family, his sister Mary Ellen, her daughters Meggan and Carly, and Carly's guy Cody, came down to visit us from Rochester, NY, in honor of my birthday in October. On Saturday, October 8th, we took them to the beautiful Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, NY.

Storm King is an open air museum "sculpture landscape", featuring a collection of pieces by modern masters such as Alexander Calder, David Smith, Mark di Suvero, Henry Moore, Isamu Noguchi, Richard Serra, and Louise Nevelson. These are joined by large-scale sculptures including Madgalena Abakanowicz, Alice Aycock, Andy Goldsworthy, Alexander Liberman, Sol LeWitt, Roy Lichtenstein, and Maya Lin. Storm King was founded in 1960, and the site is approximately 500 acres of meadow and woodland located about an hour north of Manhattan. The center is so named because of its proximity to Storm King State Park and Storm King Mountain. Walking around Storm King Art Center is always a delightful experience, and I highly recommend it if you've never been there before.

That evening we all went out to dinner at Banchetto Feast Italian Restaurant in Nanuet, NY, where we were treated to delicious entrees and yummy dessert (on the house in honor of my birthday). On Sunday we had breakfast at City Line Diner in New City, NY, (always a satisfying and plentiful meal), then our company departed for home. A good visit was had by all!

Just added 8 incredible photos of the recent amazing cloud formations at our house in Nanuet, NY - go to the Photo Gallery immediately to check these out!

I've just added an exciting new group of pics taken at Chuan Yen Buddhist Monastery in Carmel, NY, and then in Cold Spring, NY on the Hudson River. We visited these places as part of Joe's birthday celebration on 9-25-11. Chuan Yen Monastery features a huge Buddhist Temple containing the largest Buddha statue in the Western Hemisphere, surrounded by 10,000 smaller Buddha statues on a lotus terrace - quite stunning. Cold Spring is a small town on the scenic Hudson River, situated opposite West Point Academy - there are lots of little shops and restaurants. We had a beautiful and peaceful day. I'm sure you'll enjoy checking out the new shots in the Photo Gallery!

My original composition "Dunes" has made it into the Semi-Finals (Top 40) competition in the Jazz Category at OurStage for the month of October! If you would like to participate in the voting, go to http://www.ourstage.com/ - if you are not yet a member, become a Fan - the sign-up process is simple, and their site rarely contacts you, so you will not be inundated by unnecessary e-mails. Any help you can give me is appreciated! If you have any questions about OurStage or the voting process, please feel free to contact me here on my site. Thanks!

I just added my new solo piano composition "Sophie" to the Flash Player (at the top of each page) - this is a musical tribute to the life of my Mom, Sophie Spivack (1918 - 2011), written around the time of her passing. This is a live recording on my Yamaha UJ1 upright. I hope you like it.

Just got notified: my song "Reverse Motion" has progressed to the 2nd stage of judging in the ASA Australian Songwriting Contest/International Category - the group from which the Top 25 will be chosen - stay tuned! Listen to the song on the Flash Player (turn up the volume)!

Happy Rosh Hashonah (1 Tishrei 5772), beginning of the Days of Awe - I am wishing you, your families, and all who celebrate Rosh Hashanah a sweet year full of health, happiness, and peace!

Special for this month: hear my entire "World Trade Center Suite", a collection of 9 original instrumental compositions, written in the weeks and months after the horrifying and history-altering 9-11 attacks in 2001. The 9 tracks appear in order on the Flash Player and on the Listen To My Music page: "9-11-01 (Torment)", "Lost Souls", "Ground Zero", "Volunteers", "As We Rebuild", "Back From The Dead", "Let Freedom Ring", "A Child's Prayer For Peace", and "Forward".

This afternoon, a few minutes after 2PM, my beautiful Mom Sophie passed away at the age of 93. Now she will feel no more pain and suffering, and can be with her husband, my Dad Gershon, again. She was a really good mom to me, and I will miss her warm smile and touch, her many kindnesses over the many years, and her enduring love. I definitely got my love for music through her, and I am so thankful for that special gift.

I have posted a lovely group of photos showing my Mom in various stages of her life from little girl to golden years. Please go to the Photo Gallery to see these wonderful pics.

More great news: My beautiful and meaningful song "The Very Best In Me" has just been chosen as a Finalist in the 2011 Malibu Music Awards! The winners have not yet been announced, so I'm still in the running for a top award.

 Just had some great news: my solo piano piece "Sweet As Sunday" has been awarded a Semi-Finalist position in the Instrumental Category of the 2011 UK Songwriting Contest!

 Winning Semi-Finalist means the composition was "considered by the judges to be among the top songs in the contest". Watch me perform "Sweet As Sunday" live at: http://youtu.be/YR1C2BDNXSg

Ordering my original CDs "Think Lovely Thoughts" and "My Provincetown" from CD Baby is easier than ever, clicking on the widget on the Home Page! Right now you can purchase the physical CDs for only $5 each - that's right: just $5 !!! Choose any 3 or more CDs, including mine, from CD Baby, and get each CD for a mere $5. But make your purchase soon - this offer won't last forever! Use the order widget on the Home Page - when you get to the purchase page, click the Blue Box to the right, where it says "this CD can be purchased for $5" - it's simple. These CDs make a great gift for a birthday, wedding, anniversary, or holiday, too. So, take advantage of this great sale!

I've just added "Portrait In Pastels" to the Flash Player. This is my solo piano musical tribute to my Mom, Sophie Spivack, now 93, who has been a fine artist all her life, specializing in oil painting, charcoal and pastels. This is a live recording, performed on my Yamaha UJ1 acoustic upright.

I've just added 36 new pics of my latest trip to Milwaukee (July 25th to the 28th) to the Photo Gallery. There are some wonderful photos of my family, some interesting shots of a certain toy helicopter, and great scenes of my sister Linda's bluegrass band "Pickin' Up Speed" at a gig in Jefferson, MI, plus a few interesting captures from my plane ride back to NY.

While in Milwaukee, I was able to visit my Mom in the Jewish Home nursing facility all 4 days. Although she is in failing health (she receives hospice care) at 93 years old, she seemed to recognize me, held my hand, and said "I love you" and "Hi" to me, which was unusual, because she hasn't been talking to anyone much in the last 6 months. The visits were sad - I hate to see her in this condition, knowing the vibrant, talented and thoughtful woman she always was. And, after all, she's still my Mommy. But I was thankful for the chance to see her again, and to tell her I love her and let her know how much she'll always mean to me.

As always, Linda and my brother-in-law Poul were gracious and generous hosts. Monday they had a big pizza party for 14 of us, so I got to see some of my very favorite members of the family. Tuesday we went to the movies at the historic "Oriental Theatre" in downtown Milwaukee, where we saw the delightful and magical Woody Allen film "Midnight In Paris". Wednesday I was treated to a full concert of their bluegrass band - over 2 hours of pickin' and grinnin'. The band is so talented, with members Jerry Smith (vocals and mandolin), Ron Wedekind (vocals and banjo), Poul Sandersen (vocals, standup bass and harmonica), and Linda Sandersen (vocals, rhthym guitar and autoharp) all outstanding. Hearing the beautiful blend of voices and instruments is a pure joy. The crowd loved them!

I've also added a new tune, "Whispers", on the Flash Player at the top of each page (turn your volume up) - hope you like it!

My "Sweet As Sunday" video just went live on You Tube! This is the premiere of my original composition in the 33rd Annual June Piano Recital, Sunday, June 12th, 2011, with me at the Steinway Grand at Rockland Conservatory of Music in Spring Valley, NY. To view the video, click on this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR1C2BDNXSg

Enjoy this special performance!