Hi There, Hoping you're staying cool -- I've just returned from trip that inspired this latest Decant, which I hope you enjoy, and working away on behalf of the forthcoming album and Beyond the Frame moves. Hope you enjoy my musings here or on Substack, as you prefer! Thank you for reading, Kristen Likeability and Lilac Wine Nina Simone & Normandy Cider I have my most vivid memories of hearing Nina Simone’s music on the job, during shifts I worked in restaurants over the years.The first was a...

Hello and Happy Friday! I've been looking forward to sending you this email for some time. After something like ten years, I am bidding adieu to the format knows as "Jazz & Juice" -- the oblique Snoop Dogg reference has had its day, and more than that, my writing wants to breathe a little more freely. So with all the implications of oxygenation, expansion and enhancement intended, this newsletter is now called The Decant. And, since people seem to be going to Substack for good reads, I'll be...

Hi! A little something different for you this week! If you’d like to skip this unusual musing and get right to the philanthropic bike ride I’m doing, you can go straight to the bottom, or here. Thanks for reading! Juice I have to by honest, dear reader – I’ve had a lot of messed-up wine in the last month. It has left me feeling puzzled (and pairing-less) but also grateful for the deeper investigations into winemaking and culture those sips catalyzed. I’m mostly interested in finding beauty,...