<\/p>\n
La Jolla composer Gary Eskow has spent much of his musical career less concerned with being the star of the room, but rather just being in the room.<\/p>\n
That mindset first formed when Eskow was a first-grader in Utica, N.Y. Students weren\u2019t allowed to take music lessons at school until third grade, but he insisted on joining a class and persuaded his mother to make a plea on his behalf.<\/p>\n
The school agreed, but Eskow came to find he was more interested in hearing music than playing it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I describe myself as a fan first,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s kind of an insulation against failure, because I never worry about not being good.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always wanted to be in the game. If I was a bench player, that was good enough for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
After years of learning new instruments, refining his skills and writing and recording, Eskow is readying for the release next month of \u201cMany Streams, One River, Vol. 2,\u201d the second part of a three-album series he composed.<\/p>\n
The first installment of \u201cMany Streams, One River\u201d dropped Dec. 12, and Volume 2 is slated to be out Friday, March 20. The third and final album is in progress, Eskow said.<\/p>\n
The \u201cMany Streams\u201d series consists of pieces written or recorded by Eskow over the past several decades and on different coasts, as he moved from New York to San Diego in 2022 and La Jolla a year later.<\/p>\n
In Volume 2, Eskow explores his wide-ranging musical Rolodex across six pieces titled \u201cStorms Will Come,\u201d \u201cNot a Sonata!\u201d \u201cSunlight Sonata,\u201d \u201cThe Woodstock Chronicles,\u201d \u201cChanneling Chopin\u201d and \u201cUPS.\u201d<\/p>\n
The album weaves in and out of different reference points, from the stylings of Polish composer Frederic Chopin to multi-instrumentalist Ray Charles. The title refers to the many styles he compiled into one project.<\/p>\n \u201cMany Streams, One River\u201d represents a culmination of his work.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m getting better,\u201d Eskow said. \u201cI\u2019m getting close to the guy I was meant to be. I used to say that if I had to write 10,000 bad notes to get three that worked, I\u2019m going to do it.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, I absolutely know immediately when something doesn\u2019t work, and I know how to fix it. It\u2019s a stunning place to have gotten to, because I was blessed with talent. I wasn\u2019t blessed with genius, but indefatigable energy.\u201d<\/p>\n To help bring his vision to life, Eskow enlisted several musicians. For Volume 2, they include violinist Philip Setzer, pianists Christopher Johnson and Nathan Lewis, flutist Cindy Ellis and clarinetist David Chang.<\/p>\n The first release consisted of an almost entirely different roster, including the Beo String Quartet and Laszlo Mez\u0151. Just one artist, Johnson, played on both albums, while Mez\u0151 helped behind the scenes on both.<\/p>\nRealizing his vision<\/h4>\n