| Friends, I’m up early after a late night studio session with the Danny Green trio ripping it up! Odd meters, samba, frevo, and killing Brazilian influence. Look for it when it surfaces a couple of months out.
The endless desert drive featuring the kinky place where time stopped – Gila Bend, just passed through our auto window. Bob Magnusson was my passenger and we did a back and forth to Sedona, Arizona to meet up with the Road Work Ahead posse. Sedona is a magic spot —perfecto weather, red rock views, and a fun clinic with some young musos blending into an inspired concert for the Sedona Jazz Festival. New friends, great food, and the idea to file back in the brain about when the world is getting to be too much, Gila Bend is always ready to accept your membership. I’ll be back!  The Road Workers hunt down dinner while the red rocks illuminate in the Arizona sunset. Left to right, Bob Magnusson, Jim Plank, and Bill Mays. One of my most far reaching musical influences is Chick Corea. His music and his spirit of play have been part of my life all the way from the early days when I was a teenager studying jazz at the Interlochen Music Academy. More on that here but good news for this week —Chick is holding an online teaching seminar where participants can experience the wisdom from one of the great jazz masters. He’ll play with a group, talk about what elements he strives for, demonstrate his techniques on the piano and you’ll even be able to ask him questions. This is a rare opportunity and even if you can’t watch it live, once you register you can watch it at times that work for you. I’m signed up and here’s the link for more details.  Chick’s gig at Disneyland, an “E ticket” to the hilt! Me on the left, Chick on the right. He’s surrounded by an aura of light and an arsenal of digital keyboards. June, 1984. Up for this week, Leonard and I are driving to Yuma, Arizona on Thursday to play a concert as part of the Village Jazz Series. It’s a cool scene, outdoors and the weather at this time of the year is perfect. It’s a long haul but if you have some cohorts in Yuma, let ‘em know we’re coming. Then we turn the car around, head back to Chula Vista and gear it up for a show at the First United Methodist Church of Chula Vista on Sunday. It’ll be Leonard sitting on the cajon, playing a killer groove and singing Stevie Wonder riffs all the while I’ll have the double neck navigating chords, looping bass lines, adding warping distorted echo licks —all of this energy morphing into the serenity of “Shenandoah”. It’ll be a good ride and I hope you can come along.  Peter and Leonard coming up with a game plan to make songs up on the spot. all the very best and keep the sky in your head, Peter |