Georgia, Georgia

Well my time here in SC has come to an end. Time to come home. I had a great time here and was treated like a king. Bob and Lois the owners of The Jazz Corner thejazzcorner.com. The club is absolutely awesome and they have a formula that appears to be working and working perfectly. In talking with them, they to had lean years but hard work and dedication they have turned the proverbial corner. I have been here for only 3 days and it was packed the two nights at the club. Tonight is sold out for the 5th Tuesday in a row and last weekend they were packed. This is not a rare occurence at the club. Its busy almost all of the time. Its interesting to see the similarities in our clubs. The Corner is a little bit bigger 99 seats compared to our 85 but they club looks small which is very very cool. They have really high ceilings to which makes the club look really open. The staff is incredible. Many of them hvae been there since the club opened 7 years ago including the chef and the general manager. If you come out this way you have to visit the Jazz Corner. They're great people and know exactly how to run a first class jazz club!

Hilton Head

My experience here so far has been freaking incredible.

I went down to the car today to try to open the door. My key won't unlock the door and after 15 minutes of trying I give up and call Roadside Assistance. The guy comes and with one touch, he opens it. I was slightly embarrassed to say the least.

Bob and Lois owners of The Jazz Corner took me for a great breakfast where we traded great stories about the perils of booking a jazz club. I then met them at the club at around 3:00. this club is absolutely gorgeous. About 100 seats and really high ceililngs. Im envious because they own the building which is something that in the future I would love to have. The band was a trio led by pianist / vocalist Noel Frideline. The theme was songs that were made popular in their birth year. I think the years were 1964, 67 and 74. Brown Eyed Girl, Light My Fire, Can't By Me Love etc. The sounded great. Bob and Lois are really wonderful people and people that I will remember for a long time. Sometimes owning a jazz club can seem likea very lonely thing and when you meet people that have the same vision and concept as you its reassuring that you are doing a good thing. The general manager Leslie is a great woman who is very very confindent and a lot of fun. There ain't no messin with her and she is the kind of woman that you lets you know where things are at. Classic. I asked her what smelled so good in the kitchen and she simply said "bacon" and proceeded to bring me two strips. A woman after my heart!!!!

Just taking a break before heading back to the club for a soul explosion.

Can't think of a title

Well I arrived in Hilton Head, South Carolina tonight at about midnight so can't really say to much about how the place looks, I'm sure I will have great things to report tomorrow when I see the place in the light. It was a long flight by the time all was said and done but it gave me a chance to listen to some great music. I have said this before but I will say it again. CHET BAKER is unreal. I have never heard Chet play like he has on all these quintet records I have with George Coleman. He did 5 records for Prestige in the early to mid sixties with George Coleman on tenor and Kirk Lightsey on piano. the rest of the section espcapes me at the moment. I guess I just associate Chet with the more commercial side of things which I loved but never got super into because it lacked something for me. Wow, was I wrong. Chet is really burning and he sounds so great on these records. Comin On, Smokin, Groovin and Boppin are the ones I have but I don't have the other one and the name is on the tip of my tongue but can't remember it. I don't know if Tom Harrell checked out Chet Baker but there are some major similarities there for sure. These records have been reissued on CD so you can pick them up. I would strongly suggest it. Coleman is on fire as is a young relatively unknown pianist Kirk Lightsey. SMOKING!!!!

I also got a chance to check out a live sessions that I recorded at The Cellar a little over a year ago with Jodi Proznick, Tilden Webb, Jesse Cahill and Steve Kaldestad. If this band had two night it could've easily been a LIVE record. Unfortunately it was only a one nighter but these 4 play so well together its amazing. I can only hope to achieve that level of musical communication one day. Thankfully we're going into the studio with this band at the beginning of July after a few gigs at the festival. This is going to be a great record. The tunes on the live session were beautiful. RB's LINE a great Wray Downes tune that Steve and Tilden absolutely tear apart. Blackbird, a gorgeous arrangement by Webb, Roundabout a very funky tune penned by Webb that can be heard on his trio record with Fathead as can his ballad Lady J which Kaldestad eats up. These guys reallly have something special. Steve needs to live here. He has some strikingly similar qualities to George Coleman in sound and approach.

Im kind of bummed out today. My sister moved to Toronto today and I wasn't anticipating feeling this bummed about it. Im happy for her though, she has some great opportunties there so it will be good for her but its the first time anyone in my family close to me has moved away other than me leaving.

Dee Daniles sounded absolutely wonderful last night with Tony Foster on piano, Russ Botten on bass and Jesse Cahill. The trio sounded freaking great. Jesse Cahill is such an awesome drummer, so tasteful and even when he's being subtle he is swinging his ass off. If you can, go check his website, jessecahill.com. Tony Foster was especially impressive. This guy does not get enough credit for his abilities. First off he accompanied Dee virtually perfectly and every solo he took was creative and he was going for it. Man he sounded killing. Russ Botten always sounds good, laying it down, super solid. Dee was noticeably more comfortable at The Cellar than she was last time and she really sounded wonderful. We recorded last night just for reference purposes but I think Dee really likes this band so who knows what will happen in the future but I'm hoping that she wants to record.

Speaking of great pianists, I had the pleasure of playing with Chris Sigerson two days in a row last week and he is another guy that doesn't get enough credit for his playing. Everything he plays just sits so well and he has a beautiful touch on the piano.

Thats it for now.

Long Time No Post

Its been a little while since I posted. Hmmm, whats new...not a whole lot. The club has been nice and steady which is very cool. Every night has generally been good which is very refreshing. Its always around this time of year I start to get really nervous. The days get much much longer and people are less inclined to step downward into the dark confines of The Cellar. So, I'm enjoying the business while its here.

Im heading to North Carolina this weekend for some r&r and a little golfing. Its kind of funny how this came about. There is a guy in Hilton Head who has kind of followed the progress of the club and the record label. He emailed me out of the blue and asked if he could send one of his board members up here to meet with me and get some advice on things. See he has a club in Hilton Head and is looking into getting into the recording busy. I said rather than him coming up here why don't you bring me down there, put me up and take me golfing and I'll give you all the time in the world.....so on Saturday I make the long trek to Hilton Head, North Carolina. There is a car and a hotel waiting for me and away we go. It should be fun. I've heard that Hilton Head is a wonderful place and these people from the emails we have sent seem very very cool.

Im in the process of moving. Alana and I are moving into to a wonderful new 2 bedroom apartment on 11th and Granville. It will be the first time in my adult life that I have felt like I have a home. Lots of space, the ability to have friends and family over will be a welcome addition and something that I'm not used to. I will miss living in Kits and being so close to the club but 11th and Granville is such an amazing area, I'm sure I won't miss Kits for long.

The Linton Garner and Two Much Guitar cds should arrive this week which is very exciting. They both sound and look incredible and people are excited about the arrival of these cds. The Linton one is some of Max's (graphic designer) best work for the label. Other label news, well we have started an imprint of Cellar Live that is nameless at this point but will be an outlet for young and unestablished musicians to put out their records. The first two will be The October Trio and Amanda Tosoff's record. She recorded it at the club last week and boy does she sound nice. Great tunes and the band sounded great. The future of jazz is in good hands! We will have a name for the imprint soon. Cellar Live is trying to do a label showcase in NYC at the Cornelia Street Cafe in November which would be a huge coup for the label. The dates are set (November 10th and 11th). We're hoping to bring The Chad Makela Quartet, Ugetsu and The Jodi Proznick Quartet. This will be a great way for Cellar Live to get some exposure in the U.S. We have filled out all the grant applications and are just waiting to see what happens. Fingers crossed.

Im excited about a gig I have this Thursday with Russ Botten and Chris Sigerson. I have played with them a couple of times at the bank downtown on Friday's. Great duo to play with and it should be some casual good times at the club.

Thats it for now!!

Crash and Burn

Okay, first the Crash part. What a great night is was last night here at the club. My band Crash took the stage for the first time in a long time and reclaimed its Wednesday night slot. First off I have to say the guys played awesome especially after only one rehearsal. Its not like the tunes are hard but the arrangements came off much better than I had hoped. Everyone played like they were inspired and it was just a lot of fun in general. I was very happy with the turnout as well. There were about 43 people here which for our first night in a while is a very positive sign. Keep it comin, tell your friends. The food is all $7, beer is $3.75 and the cover is $5. Funky stuff!

Okay, now the burn part. The Canucks suck. This team is absolutely hideous and they should all be absolutely embararssed. All of them from Nonis to Crawford to every player on that team with the exception of Carter the Sedins and Auld. Im so sick and tired of Bertuzzi being a cry baby to the media and playing like he's 4 foot nothing and 1oo lbs. This guy if he wants to be can be the best player in the league hands down. Its clear he wants one thing: $6 million a year. He is a floater a whiner and a baby. Nasulund spoke up today and said that the 'Big 3' were doing eveything the same but just weren't getting the results. Bullshit! 2 years ago Bertuzzi hit and went to the net, 2 things that are so obvlously absent from his game this year. Naslund is pouting, something he didn't do two years ago and Morrison, well he may as well be selling newspapers on a street corner in NYC. He is completely absent from this team.

I for one and going to relish having no post season hockey to deal with this year because on the slight chance we do make it in. Its gonna be a quick exit from the playoffs. We couldn't beat the Vancouver Giants at this point.

THE CANUCKS SUCK