Holiday

Well, its been a nice break so far. What a nice way to close things up. Sharon Minemoto and I did a gig with Joani Taylor last weekend that went swimmingly well. We were paying tribute to the 1961 recording of Nancy Wilson and Cannonball Adderley. Everything went fantastic considering how tough that music is. When listening to the actual cd it doesnt sound like the music would be hard to play but boy is that misleading. Sharon worked her ass off transcribing all the material and did a great job. Being on stage with Joani is such a great experience. She is so down to earth and so easy to work with. Paul Townsend sounded amazing, Jodi Proznick as always laid down a ferocious groove as usual and Sharon really played well and you can tell she spent a lot of time with this music.

Thursdays at the club have been doing really well. Another full house for John Doheny followed a full Thursday the week before with The Morgan Childs Quintet. The 2 for 1 entrees is really helping things and of course the quality of the music but its been great in general which is really cool.

It has been great closing down the club so I don't have to worry about drawing during all the events like fireworks and whatever else is going on the next couple of weeks. Its nice to not have to worry about anything at all and with the exception of the reno last year and at Christmas we have never really shut down this long.

Wedding plans are coming along slowly but surely. We still haven't managed to set a date yet but hopefully by the end of next week we will have it all figured out and can actually start planning how the whole thing is gonna shake down. Im excited about it and am looking forward the party...I mean wedding.

Not only is the club closing down for a couple of weeks but when it reopens, Alana and I are heading to NYC for a couple of weeks. I can't wait to get back to the BIG APPLE. God I love it there. We're going to be checking out Cedar Walton and Vincent Herring, Jimmy Green and David Berkman and The Peter Bernstein Trio with Bill Stewart! Yeah!! I can't wait. We're gonna go see a play on Broadway, go to Yankee Stadium and see the Yanks and a bunch of other cool stuff. I don't know if I will be blogging, I may be to busy just hanging out but we'll see.

Okay, I gotta head out, we're going to Port Alberni fishing for big ass Spring Salmon all weekend!

Zapato Negro

Sitting in the booth recording Zapato Negro, the club is full, the band sounds killing and the sounds to tape are sounding really wonderful. It was a suprisingly busy week at the club this week. I wasn't expecting much to happen on Wednesday night when Crash returned but we had about 45 people here which was great. Our 2 For 1 Entree on Thursdays special seemed to help the crowd last night as we had just under 50 people last night for The Morgan Childs Quintet feat. Chris Davis. Unfortunately I wasn't at the club to hear the band but I can imagine that it was pretty dam good. Tonight ia basically sold out as is tomorro night so it has been a good week at a time when things are usually not that hot! Lets hope it continues till at least the end of next week when we close for a few weeks!

Im looking forward to the break. I acutally get a month break from the club which is very cool. During the two weeks we are closed we're gong to be doing some small repairs and touch ups and basically chill out and try to relax!!

In the CD player or record player this week:

Anniversary Quartet - You'll See, a classic Cellar Live recording with Eric Alexander, Peter Bernstein, Mike Ledonne and Joe Farnsworth. Its such a great cd!

Ugetsu - Live At The Cellar, another Cellar LIve date that sounds so good, I have loved this record since it came out but am growing to love it even more with every listen.

Scott Hamilton - Back In New York, with the Bill Charlap Trio. This is a great disc and Scott Hamilton doesn't get his deserved credit. He sounds big and robust on this outing swining like crazy!

Thanks it for now!

Tid Bits

A wonderful picture by Steve Mynett really capturing the joy my dad gets when he's playing his guitar. Nice shot Steve! Quite a whirlwind week and weekend. The jazz fest was fantastic, probably the best ever and every night was solid musically. No downers which isn't a suprise given who was playing. And if you're reading this blog on a regular or semi regular basis you know I'm getting married. Wow! Its been exciting, scary, fun etc. Every emotion you could possibly feel!

Now Im in a comfortable place! The studio!! We are recording Jodi Proznick's record. So far so good. The band is really happening, the tunes are fantastic and we have Shawn Pierce manning the controls. What more could you want?

I'm Getting Married, Holy crap!