I have just read a post mildly scolding me for not telling forum members more about myself--for which I apologize.
I am an Episcopal priest by background, a jazz student of many years, love everything from ragtime to contemporary, have a huge jazz collection (over 2,000 albums), read voraciously, and attend classes at Rutgers, Newark, in the masters in jazz studies program.
My professor, Dr. Lewis Porter, has become a good friend, and I have attended several of his most stimulating courses--historiography, Coltrane, history of the tenor saxophone, jazz in film, and most recently Monk and Mingus.
I am from Virginia originally, moved to New Jersey in 1982, am divorced, live in West New York, New Jersey (with a glorious view of Manhattan), host a jazz listening club that meets in my home once a month (we've held over 100 sessions)--the club featuring a chosen theme or artist. I'd be happy to invite any members of this forum who live in the NYC area if they are interested. Just get to be privately.
I am a member of several jazz forums, and find that I could devote my entire life to sitting at the feet of so many enthusiastic and knowledgeable people. But I have to restrain myself. After all, it's a big world out there.