That Was Fast

That feeling has persisted for the subsequent 60 issues, for each selection of articles we put together. No matter how stressful it is for us to make a particular deadline, I’m always really pleased when I finally get the issue in my hands. Interesting stories, great gear reviews, amazingly helpful how-tos, and music lessons that have soul. It’s simply an honor to have this job, and to present you with what I consider to be the finest magazine in the world each month. But as every person who’s had this job before me knows, it goes deeper than that.

The real honor is heading up this incredible team. You wouldn’t believe even if you saw it with your own eyes how many ideas technical editor Stephen Fortner has in the course of any single day. He’s a freekin’ idea tornado. If we could implement just a fraction of what spins out of his head, your mailbox wouldn’t be able to withstand the weight of the magazine we’d deliver. I don’t know if you’ve ever managed a team, but if you have, you’d appreciate associate editor Michael Gallant the way I do. The reason? I don’t have to worry about whatever is on Mike’s to-do list. It just gets done. Really well. With excellent musicianship. On time. And most of what’s on his to-do list doesn’t even have deadlines; if there’s stuff that needs to get planned so that we have a future at all, I know Mike’ll have it together. Whatever pile of sidebars, diagrams, and photos the guys come up with, art director Gaith Kawar will be able to see the underlying structure and make sense of it all on the page. In about five minutes.

Since we’re all musicians here, and creative in general, we have our heads in the clouds a lot. That’s all well and good, but it severely hampers our production process. That’s where managing editor Debbie Greenberg’s skills are invaluable. Even you longtime readers will recognize Debbie’s name on the masthead; she’s been doing this longer than I have. And she’s better at it, too. If it wasn’t for her, we’d still be trying to get our May ’03 issue out the door.

Then there’s the rogue’s gallery on page 6. These are the men and women who really make Keyboard magazine happen by drawing on their vast and varied professional experiences, applying their considerable musical and technical chops, and by being our eyes and ears out in the world. I don’t have room to point out the strengths and accomplishments of all of them, but I do want to bring your attention to the newest addition to our roster of contributing editors.

Jon Regen is one hell of a great pianist. And what do you know? His writing chops are just as hot. A protégé of Kenny Barron, Jon has been bringing us story after story that oozes inspiration and is full of the New York scene in which he lives and works. And the New York Times writes about him. Can you beat that? Search for it at www.nytimes.com, it’s a great read!

The list of amazing teammates expands exponentially once we start talking about all of the other cool stuff we bring you, such as our webcasts (sign up and check ’em out at www.visualwebcaster.com/musicplayernetwork/storefront), newsletters (sign up for those at www.keyboardmag.com), and videos (new ones all the time at www.keyboardmag.tv).

So while the scope and reach of what Keyboard brings you each month has expanded tremendously in five years, my feeling hasn’t changed. It’s still an honor to bring all this to you, and to sign this page each month.

Enjoy!