The Road to A Night on Earth

I’m sure you’re aware by now that I can’t stop writing. Most days, it’s music. Then photography and culture enter the room, followed—often without invitation—by the occasional political rant.

I never expected to become a writer at any age. It wasn’t part of some grand plan or carefully plotted career path. Yet years spent writing for Cashbox, Billboard, FYIMUSICNEWS.ca, and my own publication, the Jazz Report Magazine, trained my brain to improvise at any given moment. It’s much the same whether I’m seated at the piano, walking with a camera in hand, or staring into the inviting emptiness of an open page. You listen, find the opening, and follow wherever the moment leads.

I’m already getting a jump on fall now that Sound & Reason, Vol. 2—Life Between the Notes is finished and making its way into the world somewhere around the back end of September. Another book, another collection of thoughts, memories, rhythms, interviews, and observations gathered between the downbeats.

The Trailer:

Then comes October 18, 2026, and a show at the Redwood Theatre: A Night on Earth.

This feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring the many pieces of my creative life together in one beautiful room. I’ll present my compositions and photography, sit behind a grand piano, play, talk, and share stories about this remarkable life I’ve been gifted. There will be a 4K screen, a state-of-the-art sound system, our own baby grand piano, and a gorgeous theatre in which to do my thing.

Pinch me now.

Along the way, I’ve been asked whether Notes for the Soul is easily available. Of course, it is. I publish through Kindle Direct Publishing, and all my books are available through Amazon.

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0FV56STPS

Every so often, someone tells me, “I don’t buy from Amazon.” I understand and respect that choice, but I should add a little context. As a freelance writer and independent publisher, I’m paid monthly through Kindle. The accounting is straightforward. There are no mysterious deductions, buried profits, or malicious contract terms waiting in the shadows. The printing quality is excellent, and the work is produced locally in different parts of the world, allowing books to reach readers without boxes of inventory gathering dust in my home.

For an independent creator, that matters.

So, if you’re looking for an August read—and if you’ve been enjoying the eclectic spirit of the writing that arrives here each day—I invite you to check out book one, Notes for the Soul.

It holds the same mix that has shaped my life: music, photography, culture, memory, observation, and the restless curiosity that keeps me returning to the piano, the camera, and the page.

Notes for the Soul – The First 25…of 146 essays..

1. A Night at RDs (Steak, Frites, and Jazz Royalty)

2. Ah, Americana

3. Ahmad Jamal (Live at the Pershing)

4. Allee Willis (Funky Genius in a Velvet Housecoat)

5. Amy, Darryl, Righteous Brothers, Teena, Van (Blue-Eyed Soul)

6. An Hour Inside Steve Allen’s Mind

7. Anthony Joseph (Poet of the Caribbean)

8. Archie Alleyne (The Groove, The History, The Man)

9. Aretha Franklin (Blues Gardenia)

10. Art of Improvisation in the Animal Kingdom

11. Art of Sound (A Journey Through LP Cover Design)

12. Artie Shaw (The Reluctant King of Swing)

13. B.B. King (When B.B. Played, the Camera Prayed)

14. Beach Boys (God Only Knows)

15. Behind the Wheel (Ben Wi man, Paul Novotny, Amanda Martinez)

16. Bernard Herrmann: (The Maestro Who Scored Our Deepest Fears)

17. Bertrand Tavernier (A Baptism in Jazz, Cinema, and Microphone Sweat)

18. Be y Carter (The Voice That Rocked Us Before the Boat Could)

19. Bill Evans (When Evans Whispered to the Piano)

20. Billy Strings (The Eternal Spirit of Bluegrass)

21. Billy Vera (Long Road to Soul)

22. Black Chicago (DJ Al Bensen Remembered)

23. Blue Note Records (Uncompromising Expression)

24. Blue’s Hands of God (Jane Vasey and Stan Szelest)

25. Bob Dylan (A Complete Unknown)

Coming in September!

Tickets for Bill King’s A Night on Earth at the Redwood Theatre

https://www.theredwoodtheatre.com/event-details/bill-king-life-between-the-notes