For the past few years, I have been reflecting upon how time changes us. We cannot reverse time or even hold it back. The young become the old, and each new generation takes its place in the world. These thoughts have affected my writing especially as I became a mother in 2003. The Way of Time is a collection of six of my own compositions and six standards that have stood the test of time.

I Hear Music ... This opener features the trio. The interaction between Lynn, Sebastian, and me makes me smile from the first note.

Counting the Stars ... I wanted to write an elegant bossa nova in the classic style of Antonio Carlos Jobim. I love the sound of Mike's nylon-string guitar on this track.

As I take care of my daughter Anna during the day, I find myself making the most of every minute of practice time I can get, which is usually after she goes to bed. Mama's Midnight Hour is a blues that I wrote to celebrate these late night practice sessions. I dedicate this tune to loving parents everywhere who are trying to faithfully raise children while pursuing their craft or passion.

I have always heard the traditional spiritual Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child sung at a slow tempo, almost like a lullaby. I changed the meter and gave the song a dynamic quality which continually builds. Even though we perform it without the lyrics, I hope you will hear in the music the transformation from intense despair and deep distress to confident hope and restored faith. These feelings resonate throughout the ages and transcend time and culture.

After a recent performance of All Too Soon (For Anna), one listener observed that the melody in the piano sounded like the child, while the bass sounded like the parent. Although I wasn't thinking about this when I composed the tune, it's something I now consider. Performing it gives me a way to connect with my daughter, even when we are apart. I especially enjoy Sebastian's sensitive brushwork on this track.

I have been singing East of the Sun (And West of the Moon) for quite some time. It's simply one of the best standards ever.

Sphere of Influence is a blues that I wrote about ten years ago as a graduate student. In the melody you will hear characteristics of some of the great pianists in jazz who have influenced me, and still do -Thelonius Monk, McCoy Tyner, and Mulgrew Miller. Check out Lynn's superb bowed bass solo.

April in Paris ... It's almost impossible to think of this song without calling to mind Count Basie's famous rendition. Taken here at a slightly slower tempo, our version features the bass.

The melody and rhythm of Caravan have enticed me since high school. Recently I created this bass line for my left hand and started playing orinigal melody over it. This arrangement ended up being one of my solo pieces in the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Piano Competition at Washington DC's Kennedy Center in May 2006.

You've Changed ... I've always admired both Carmen McRae's and Billie Holiday's interpretations of this song. For me, performing it solo brings an even greater intimacy to the lyric.

My inspiration for these final compositions, Friends of Childhood and The Song of the Lark, comes from the classic American novel The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather. The novel tells the story about a young girl who finds the courage to seize her musical gifts and fulfill her calling. "What was any art but an effort to make a sheath, a mould in which to imprison for a moment the shining, elusive element which is life itself-life hurrying past us and running away, too strong to stop, too sweet to lose?"