jazz concerts

So I tend to blog after the show. I repent. The other week after church, chatting with a friend, I said that I was awed by the fact that we had tickets for 8 jazz concerts... never before has this been the case, however, we jumped in for reduced prices at two colleges.

The Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, Dizzy is gone but the love continues...September 3, 2008 at Lafayette College, Easton PA Many living legends here who played with Dizzy!

The Back Bay Saxophone Quartet (well we don't have tickets, but if we hop on RT 78 after a quilt show in Harrisburg, it will take us to Bethlehem where they are playing at Moravian college this Saturday, September 6th. OK so they are jazz and classical music influenced composers who play saxophone.. could be interesting and maybe have time to say howdy to my parents in Bethlehem. Moravian's concert hall is a short walk from their condo. We have met there to listen to the Moravian College Big Band, who always puts on a great show.

Hank Jones playing piano duets with pianist Mulgrew Miller, who is also in the big band mentioned above. Hank is nearing or past 90 years of age his siblings, Thad and Elvin are also jazz masters. Piano duets, how cool will that be... Lafayette College on October 12, 2008.

Here Hank plays My Funny Valentine with the Meridian string quartet.

Speaking of string quartets, the innovative Turtle Island String Quartet is arriving at our local community college, MCCC, in Blue Bell on Novemeber 8, 2008. Not long ago I came across their new CD on which they do a tribute to sax legend John Coltrane.

Mulgrew Miller will be on stage yet again at Lafayette College with his band, Wingspan, on November 22, 2008. want a listen... here is Samba D'Blue composed by Miller.

December 12, 2008 at MCCC will be the night we see the master of the acoustic and electric bass, Christian McBride.

I am so glad I found the piece of music I highlighted by Hank Jones, because on January 24, 2009 at MCCC we will see jazz pianist, composer, arranger... Billy Childs playing with a string quartet, The Ying Quartet.

Dianne Reeves finishes off the jazz series at Lafayette College on February 7, 2008. Have you seen Good Night and Good Luck, the movie about Edward T Murrow? Then you have seen and heard her. She was the singer in that studio they kept flashing to throughout the movie. Many consider her the best jazz singer out there right now. here she is singing One For My Baby on the sound track to mentioned movie.

back again at MCCC on February 13, 2009 we will see John Blake Jr play some jazz on his violin... listen to some here if you are curious

OK, I am linked out. this is such a range of music... who could have imagined this coming into our lives before the pamphlets arrived this summer. We are excited and blessed to have the opportunity; and thanks to all those organizations that give grants and support cultural arts series, it makes it affordable for us.

remember support music... applaud, celebrate, enjoy

Paired Down II, crafting elite, and strange trio

M and I have had few dates over the last two months, we strung three together, starting Friday night when we drove to Easton.

First we got bogged down in traffic trying to get to a Vietnamese restaurant in Telford , but the service was fast and food amazing as ever.... well there was the time I stretched my taste buds into the realms of preserved lime beverages, but that was amazingly salty.

Easton was our destination to see the second in what I will be calling the paired down concerts at Lafayette College . Mulgrew Miller (piano) and Roy Hargrove (trumpet), didn't talk much but gave us nearly two hours of duets. Each took a break, for the other to play a solo... Mr. Miller played A Child is Born by Thad Jones.


Saturday started by getting on the train to Philly at 8:48 am and the short-lived mystery as to why it was so full.... Temple did not beat Goliath, but that was fine for most folk on the train were Penn State fans. We met a friend and headed off to the convention center.

I think I scared M a bit when I announced the sighting of a student of mine. But I told her this one was safe, as are 99.9% of them 99.999% of the time. He came across the street and I made the introductions. This young man will not fail because of a lack of social skills, and I hope they can carry him through his life.

We then spent the day looking at crafts which we could not afford. But we went in knowing that that would be the case and saw it more as going to a museum then to a store; and this event is one that brings talented folk from across this country and Canada. Midway through we took a break for some Burmese food in Chinatown, where we were greeted by a collage of what is happening there and a written plea to help. For one who gets his news by radio, photos are eye opening.

As we walked back to the convention center, I said that I needed a longer break from the crafts so I sat and had a beer and then caught up to M and our friend.


M told me about a benefit concert at a local Friends meeting house as we came back on the train, so after a brief rest we headed out for Japanese food (yes, an Asian food explosion did occur this weekend). The jazz trio at the local Friends Meeting House was led by Brad Litwin, a local guy who plays guitar and is passionate about the early days of jazz and blues. The trio consisted of guitar, violin, and tuba. Don't know if I will ever experience that combination again.

Was this all a flee from my troubles of this past week, well kind of, but the Easton concert was planned months ago, the craft show tickets were bought in advance a few weeks ago. This was a leap into things we love and have not found time to do as of late. It came at a time we needed a break from what has been keeping us busy. We needed to have fun. The 28 hour date was a blessing.