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Sailboat in the Moonlight
Whew! It was 4:43 in the morning and Irene has the wheel. We were driving through France on our way to London. Keep reading » -
Salut i força al canut
We unhappily leave Perugia at 1or 2 in the morning surrounded by revelry (the kind that makes you stay long past the prudent time of departure). Fernando drives all through the night, and Irene and I sleep. We awaken at the French/Italian border and get a good Italian coffee (around 6 in the morning). I groggily pull out my notebooks and start working on my symphony, and Fernando and Irene speak about something in Spanish (she wants him to give up the wheel which he declines to do). Keep reading »
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Perugia IS romance
On Tuesday we played the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italia. This music festival, which features musicians of all genres, just pours out of the city the way the city's medieval buildings unpredictably jut out of the mountain side. Perugia is perched above the shimmering moon- lit Valle di Assisi and, twisting and turning with the knotty terrain, has many hidden places eager to be discovered. Perugia IS romance. People all over the city holding hands and participating in the spring serenade will make you love sick or hungry. Great food——made sure to get some tagliatelle with truffles and so on…..We have the morning off and cats go to check out the always swinging Joe Locke. Keep reading »
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Flamenco, Food, Fado and Friends
Chucho Valdéz, Mariza and Wynton Marsalis (photo: Frank Stewart)Fernando and I drive into Rotterdam for the North Sea Jazz festival. We stop at Susanna Tadjab's house for a beautiful lunch. She and Remon live in Poortugaal, a suburb. I see a picture of me with Rose, Susan's daughter, when she was about 8. Maybe 10 years ago or 8. We talk about the economy of the world and Indonesia (Susan is Indonesian). Keep reading » -
Harmony through Conflict
I applaud the fire and strong sentiments of this response. The gene pool of ideas is enriched when a diversity of perspectives is encouraged. I try to address as many comments as I can by emailing youdirectly and will continue to do this but, this one time, I wish to publish a long detailed response to demonstrate how I tend to look at differences of opinion. My hope is to communicate, not to attack ordenigrate. I won't go back and forth just because I don't have the time and my phone typing is very under developed. Keep reading »
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Swinging in the City of Lights
Now we are leaving the most beautiful city in the world. Paris has been raved about for centuries, and with each passing year the accumulated adoration becomes more justified. We played a 2 and a 1/2 hour concert in the famed Salle Pleyel. The hall was only about 3/4 full, but the people were very enthusiastic requesting 3 encores. Keep reading » -
Crossover to What? (Part II)
In the 70's the American music industry and national radio became almost completely segregated. The industry and the country (all of us went along with it) used code words. R&B meant black, Rock 'n' Roll and Pop meant white. Michael Jackson was popular but his heartfelt song to a rat (Ben), even though he did a credible job in an incredible situation, cost him on the street (whatever that means). Keep reading » -
à Vienne
I missed two planes from New York to Lyon. Finally arrived today in Paris at 8am and drove 5hrs with Fernando (he just got married two weeks ago) to Vienne. Jazz à Vienne is one of the great festivals of music in France. It takes place all over the city but the main stage is in an ancient Roman amphitheater. Keep reading »
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State of Mind
Independence Day is the concentrated celebration of American independence from British Rule. With the passage of time there is no thought of return to colonial rule, at least in the USA. So, this holiday reminds us where we have come from AND inspires us to celebrate many personal and immediate present day freedoms. Keep reading »
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De Cadi a New Orleans a la Montreal
We played an experimental and fun concert last night to open the 30th Montreal Jazz Festival. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra was joined by the great Spanish pianist Chano Dominguez and his group. We performed movements from my 'Vitoria Suite' written for the great jazz festival in that city in the Basque region of Spain and a 20 minute piece of Chano's entitled 'De Cadi a New Orleans'. Keep reading »
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