Good morning Vietnam! It's 9:12 and 33 degrees. Winter is icumen soon. It's hit both sides of the country, and will make its way mid-westward before long.
At least it's just a couple months. There is a lady I met some years ago who is from Russia, near the Bering Strait. She told me they have about 7 months of Winter every year. For her, this stuff we're going through probably seems like small potatoes.
Music news. I have one job at the end of the month. Friday, December 30th, at Boone's. 5:30 to 7:30. It's Rob Killam's gig. Rob is a bass player I've worked with quite a lot over the years. Sometimes we're fellow sidemen, sometimes it's my gig, and sometimes it's Rob's.
When I'm calling the shots, it's a trio or maybe quartet. We play standards, but avoid the war-horse stuff like Satin Doll and Girl from Ipanema. When Rob is at the helm, it's a bigger group, and the material is more eclectic. So I'll be a little more crowded than I'd like, and I'll be playing some stuff I wouldn't call. Still, it's just two hours, and should be fun once I get there...
I'd still like to get my own trio going. What I'd really like is to get my own trio going and have it become our band. I can get people to do the jobs with me, but haven't had the chemistry- or the willingness to put more work into it. So I'm re-thinking all this. Maybe a solution to this is to have my own book of tunes, and hire out a bass player and drummer.
The YouTube page is alive and well, with 219 subscribers. Still trying to practice most every day, and often taping part of my session. I'm getting some nice comments, and from folks all over the globe- Serbia, The Philippines, and Czech Republic so far. It's a good thing.
I try to keep these posts short and sweet, so it's probably time to ring off. The only other news I have is domestic stuff. Having some long-needed work done on my house. Maybe more on this in another post. For now, thanks for stopping in and reading. Happy Monday to you, if that's possible. Je suis outa here. More later. PS today's pic was taken at Bassburg, an annual event celebrating all those lower-frequency folks who make the music sound good. From left to right: me, Mark Sanders and Rob Killam. PPS today's tune is from my album Jazz Guitar. It has a kind of Western Swing feel to it. Hope you like it. 