Hi! ā My name is Jerry. I retired down here to Costa Rica almost 7 years ago and will be 72 in September. In terms of my formal background, I was a child of the 60ās and 70ās, moving from Boston, MA to Berkeley, CA and lived in many yoga institutes ā and even a tree hut or two ā over my 12 years there! From an educational standpoint, I have separate Masterās Degrees in British Poetry and Comparative Religion, and taught both Biblical Greek and tutored Hebrew at the graduate level. I also did work in Syriac, Aramaic and a bit of Coptic, as well as several years each of Pali, Sanskrit and Classical Chinese.
After grad school, I became a political activist for about 7 years in the area of human rights and domestic violence, spent several of those years playing classical guitar and riding my bicycle in the early mornings on a daily basis in the Berkeley Hills, as well as running a non-profit print shop. Around 38, I finally grew up, moved to NYC and eventually became a head estimator at Toppan Printing Company of America, Ltd out of Tokyo. At that point, I began to study ballroom dancing VERY intensively at night and on the week-ends in NYC with various regional, national and world champions from both Europe and the United States. It was lots of fun, with a steady mix of weekly socials, black-tie formal events, competitions and even an occasional evening or two each year at the famous Rainbow Room in Rockerfeller Plaza on their rotating dance floor! At age 53, I qualified as 3rd in the U.S. on the NDCA points circuit as an adult amateur in Rumba, Cha Cha, Samba, Merengue, Mambo, Foxtrot, Waltz, Viennese Waltz and American Tango. After that, I switched over to the International style and studied with several former world champions in Latin and Standard.
After retiring, and breaking my collarbone in a
boogie-board mishap at Manuel Antonio several years ago, I calmed down a bit and took up digital photography, Bb-Clarinet, Alto Sax and, more recently, Jazz Piano. Even though I speak moderately decent Spanish according to the Ticos, no one down here wants to play with a 71-year old āviejitoā/gringo, so my goals are somewhat modest. I simply want to play solo piano Standards from the Big Band era fairly well as a hobbyist. At this point, I play Clarinet considerably better than Sax or Jazz Piano, have a repertoire of about 50 jazz and classical pieces, but feel that the next 6 months or so could really bring a BIG breakthrough on Jazz Piano. Haydenās explanations are incredibly super-clear, I study 6 to 8 to 10 hours a day ā no exaggeration ā and Pianogroove certainly looks like the right place to expend/develop my creative energy!
By the way, I have a web site on Facebook that is totally dedicated to the natural beauty and cultural customs of Costa Rica. There are over 5,000 photos of orchids, exotic plants, animals, butterflies, hummingbirds, botanical gardens, parades, sunsets, volcanoes, cataracts, street graffiti, historical hotels., etc., etc. The site is totally āpublicā and strictly ānon-commercialā. Feel free to enter, press the button for āphotosā, and you will be taken to an area with about 95 albums that you can enjoy and share with your friends and relatives! Since there is another fellow on Facebook with the name of Jerry Ahearn, take a look at my Pianogroove photo first before trying to locate the site.
Well, thatās it in a nutshell and, as we say down here in Costa Rica ā Pura Vida Siempre! ā Jerry Ahearn
