June13, 2013 One Month in New Hope
Well....first blog entry. Hmmm. I've been in New Hope for just over a month, and I'm ecstatic about it. I knew I was moving to a beautiful, funky, arsty community. What I wasn't expecting was the abundance of great musicians and chances to play.
Everyone I've met and played with has been welcoming, friendly..AND A BLAST TO PLAY WITH! There are tons of jam sessions in pubs all around the area. most of them are pretty "rock oriented". These can get pretty adventurous, though. I haven't stretched out like this in a very long time. Last Sunday I went to a regular Sunday night jazz jam at a place in Doylestown (down the road a bit....everything is "down the road a bit" here......and what lovely roads these are! More on that later). I expected a little "local" jazz scene. What I found was world class bebop. Glenn MacClelland, a keyboard guy I've been running into at some of the rock jams, was playing piano. Glenn plays with Blood sweat and Tears and was a member of Ween. What an amazing player! And what a nice guy. Drummer was a guy from Philly named Dan Monahan. Fantastic! They tried to get me to play, but I chickened out. Soon, perhaps....I'm still scared to play jazz with the big boys. But it did get me to sit in my living room the last couple days play brushes on a snare to Billy Higgins and Philly Joe Jones records. It's been a long time since I was inspired in such a way.
I have gotten myself a practice/teaching studio, in the basement of an old farmhouse in Warrington. Cheap, charming and well located. Cait helped me paint it and fix it up. So fun to have my own place.
Speaking of Cait....I could never have expected to be so lucky. I'm in love and I'm living a life of adventure and discovery. I never would have had the courage to make this move without you, Babe.
Missing my two teachers, Jean Leroy (congas and all things clave) and Manpreet Bedi, my Tabla guru. I don't know if I'll be able to replace them.
That's it for now. Thanks for putting up with the silliness of this post. I had to get the first one out of the way. So there.
Well....first blog entry. Hmmm. I've been in New Hope for just over a month, and I'm ecstatic about it. I knew I was moving to a beautiful, funky, arsty community. What I wasn't expecting was the abundance of great musicians and chances to play.
Everyone I've met and played with has been welcoming, friendly..AND A BLAST TO PLAY WITH! There are tons of jam sessions in pubs all around the area. most of them are pretty "rock oriented". These can get pretty adventurous, though. I haven't stretched out like this in a very long time. Last Sunday I went to a regular Sunday night jazz jam at a place in Doylestown (down the road a bit....everything is "down the road a bit" here......and what lovely roads these are! More on that later). I expected a little "local" jazz scene. What I found was world class bebop. Glenn MacClelland, a keyboard guy I've been running into at some of the rock jams, was playing piano. Glenn plays with Blood sweat and Tears and was a member of Ween. What an amazing player! And what a nice guy. Drummer was a guy from Philly named Dan Monahan. Fantastic! They tried to get me to play, but I chickened out. Soon, perhaps....I'm still scared to play jazz with the big boys. But it did get me to sit in my living room the last couple days play brushes on a snare to Billy Higgins and Philly Joe Jones records. It's been a long time since I was inspired in such a way.
I have gotten myself a practice/teaching studio, in the basement of an old farmhouse in Warrington. Cheap, charming and well located. Cait helped me paint it and fix it up. So fun to have my own place.
Speaking of Cait....I could never have expected to be so lucky. I'm in love and I'm living a life of adventure and discovery. I never would have had the courage to make this move without you, Babe.
Missing my two teachers, Jean Leroy (congas and all things clave) and Manpreet Bedi, my Tabla guru. I don't know if I'll be able to replace them.
That's it for now. Thanks for putting up with the silliness of this post. I had to get the first one out of the way. So there.
