H ola Gente Guapa,
I hope this note is finding you in a good place. All is well over here in Encinitas.
It was a whirlwind week last week with some real high points — Leonards’ Jazz Lounge hit is the real deal —a superb listening environment that beckons creativity at every turn; Camarada playing Jobim at Park and Market was transcendental — the band was on fire and the vibe sublime; rounding out with a trio concert at the Encinitas Library — friends and fans in attendance en masse as the good north county vibe prevails.
What a fun ride!
Coming to you this week, first up, a new vid launches into the great abyss hoping to borrow 7 minutes of your ear time for some classic Metheny influence.
In the world of great songs, this gem by Pat Metheny is right up there. What a gorgeous melody floating on top of an infectious and easeful 7/4 groove. Pat is one of my main influences as both a guitarist and a composer. He’s singlehandedly created a unique style of music and he owns the airwaves when you’re talking about being melodic. I could go on and on but we might as well get right into the music itself.
This performance first appeared on our Episode 27 Live(ish) From SpragueLand livestream called Peter Sprague Plays Pat Metheny — Watercolors. Me and the band were gearing up for an actual live gig with Pat in Newport Beach. We took his set list, rehearsed for a few days and then did this livestream show, all in hopes of doing well with Pat himself. The good new is the gig went great and everyone was happy to be in orbit with one of the true masters of jazz.
Pat Metheny for president!
Next up, coming up on Saturday evening, it’s all about downtown Encinitas resonating with various art and music celebrations. It’s called Art Night and the local art galleries will swing open their doors to celebrate the city’s diverse visual art scene along with participating locations. The city-wide event is free to the public with a variety of visual, performing, cinematic, and literary arts to enjoy.
Danny, Mack, and I will be playing at the Perspectives Space on 2nd Street and come and say hi if you’re cruising. The details are below…
Rounding the bend into next week we’re going live-streaming once again! Yay for getting the cameras back into the flow and Digital Brian is getting the map app up and running again.
If you’ve been watching our livestream shows from the beginning of the pandemic you might remember on two occasions our remote guest artist, vocalist Aubrey Johnson. Aubrey phoned it in from her apartment in New York City and her performances on Lyle Mays’ “August” and Chick Corea’s “Samba LA” blew our minds. What a sound, what a vibe, total virtuosity at play!
We’re thrilled that she’s coming to the west coast, first to run the LA Marathon and second to make the trip down to Encinitas to join us in a Live(ish) From SpragueLand livestream show. We’ll be playing a brand new song of mine called “Playground of the Gods” along with a few Antonio’s Carlos Jobim gems, a Joni Mitchell masterpiece, a bebopper strangely called “I Can’t Make Much Sense Out of You,” a Jimi Hendrix psychedelic-ized jazz exploration and more.
Good times coming up!
The band includes some of the best with:
Peter Sprague — guitar
Aubrey Johnson — vocals
Danny Green — piano
Mack Leighton — bass
Duncan Moore —drums
I hope you can join in!
There it is friends and hope to see you soon, all best, Peter